3-Isabella V:Down the River

 

When rafting down the Colorado River with many different people who are complete strangers to you, there is very little you can do. Option one ignore them the entire 10 days you are rafting down the river. Sleeping in sandy cots not even two feet away from each other. Dirty hands, Stink Feet, and bugs that will drop you to your knees. Or Option two you get to know the people you are on this journey with down the river. I am too social and too noisy to not pick option two. Going around to many different people just to hear their stories and where they have been. Out of all of my fellow rafters, one seemed to stick out more than the rest. 

It was this 84 year old man named John who had many stories to tell and his character showed it. We went on a 14 mile hike straight up the side of the Grand Canyon, climbing on all four in some areas and John made it halfway before having to turn around which is still 7 miles straight up the side of the canyon. Every time I thought John wouldn’t be able to do something, he would surprise everyone by jumping off rocks, and riding in front of the raft when we went down ginormous rapids.

When talking to John I couldn’t help but sit and listen to everything he had to say. Like the time when he was a kid and a family down the street from him had just gotten one of the first colored TVs.He said how all the kids on the street would watch through the window as the color danced across the screen. He also told me about a time that he and his wife were walking down the street and there was a sign in the window that said, “If not now when?” That made his wife and him realize that they have a small amount of time on Earth, and they want to travel the world that they kept putting off. He said so anytime you feel scared to do something, or not do something that may cost a little money. Just remember if you're not going to do it now, then when are you going to. This shocked me. It made me feel silly about past decisions where I had missed out on something because I felt scared or it was outside my comfort zone. He reminded me that you can not grow if stuck in a shell, like a flower can not bloom until it has broken out of it’s pod.

Feeling absolutely star struck and like my life had just started over becases of a simple phrase. The rest of my trip was filled with many more of John’s amazing stories, but the one that stuck in my head during every moment was the phrase that made me jump off rocks into the river, to look up at cheering faces. The phrase that made me cross the highest bridge to see a jaw dropping view, and the phrase that made me even more adventurous.

Saying goodbye to John was the hardest goodbye I have ever had to say. He hugged me so tight and whispered, “the world is going to be a better place with you around.” Tears streaming down my face crying happy tears, his last words, “ you’re going to be okay” as if I impacted his life as much as he did mine. Still today I live by his words. His quotes on my wallpaper reminding me everyday, “If not now when?”

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