“Pura Vida!” I yelled as I jumped off the cliff to rappel down the fast paced currents of the Baru, a deep waterfall within the jungles of Costa Rica. I rappelled myself slightly down, fearing the drop underneath me. Not able to stop for a second to inhale a deep breath of fresh air, struggling to take a breath, I continued my way down the 365-foot tall waterfall. Cautiously pushing my cord through the feeder, I thought, “Don’t look down, Don’t look down.” Of course now I had too. Staring down the waterfall, I took note of the looming drop underneath me, enough to fit a skyscraper. My head was spinning, my stomach churning, “I am going to die”, were the five words that would not leave me mind. “I hate myself”, I thought. I was an ant next to a mountain---I proceeded to rappel deeper down the waterfall, pausing to stare out into the gracious open valley ahead of me, abandoned by human inhabitants. The wind blew my short hair as I swung freely --- in the middle of the air. I let the water swallow me up with its grace---I loved it. In those moments as the water frantically surged into my mouth, I had never felt so happy in my entire life. I was on top of the world.
“Pura Vida” is a Costa Rican proverb, which translates into Pure Life, a saying that all Costa Ricans attempt to live by. The two words are such a drug to the people, they will use it for virtually everything, It’s embedded into their culture, it’s their version of Y.O.L.O. In fact, a Tico will never approach anyone saying the traditional “Hola” but straight away let “Pura Vida” roll off their tongues. I, as well as the 15 other kids whom I was with, eventually grew accustomed to the slang.
“Pura Vida, Man!”, was the first sound I heard as I was reaching the bottom of the rappel. Looking up I noticed Eduardo, our Native Costa Rican guide start come closer to the waterfall base: “You’re the first one bro!” he yelled, attempting to pierce through sound of the waterfall. I smiled at him, as I was unclipping my harness from the rappel, not taking notice of the slippery boulder underneath my feet as I slipped off and into a deep pool of water. I frantically swam to the edge of the water towards the boulders, I was at the bottom, this was land, and I survived. At that point I noticed it: The reason we had rappelled down the waterfall in the first place. The cave stood quietly situated beneath the waterfall, water gently rushing quickly past, into anther steep drop. I stood breathlessly----mystified as to how such a place exists. This was the place we would sleep in for the night: In a cave, underneath a waterfall, miles from civilization, in the middle of a jungle. “PURA VIDA”, I yelled as I ran towards the cave. When I first reached the cave I realized the conditions inside were more than acceptable; they were luxury. Beds were laid out on one end, a bathroom complex a few feet out, and even a kitchen took up space within the middle of the cave. On top of it all of, I was left with an uninterrupted view of water streaming from the waterfall above. As the sun started to set, and night was approaching, everyone came down from the waterfall and joined together for dinner. The night before we slept was unforgettable. Everything seemed to be going off well, however I hadn’t yet realized the horrors that lay ahead of me. While everyone was choosing beds to sleep in for the night, I was too busy to notice as I strummed the strings of my ukulele, which would prove to be a large mistake. I was given the only bed left. While all the other beds were either raised, or dug into the ground, mine was flat on the ground; making it easily accessible to deadly jungle insects. To further raise my optimism, my bed was strategically placed next to a group of a wonderful species known as---Scorpion Spiders. Complementing metal colored bodies these spiders could as well be from both prehistoric times, and the 31st century. After complaining to the guides excessively one of them realistically responded: “If one bites you, you would die within an hour”--- speaking plainly without any humor involved. “Don’t worry at least 90 others have slept in your bed, we have never had a problem”, another guide responded. After hearing about how deadly the spiders were it was somewhat a relief to hear that others had survived where I slept. I let it go; “I’m going to sleep next to them, I need to fight my fears”, I thought. I walked back to my bed to allow myself to sleep, but suddenly noticed seven people around my bed as I heard one guy screech: “IT’S UNDER HIS BED!!!!”,I saw the lump ripple underneath the mat, placed around the mattress. Marching back to kitchen, I attempted to convince a group of guides to check my bed. Refusal after Refusal, none of them wanted too. Eventually I stood, shaking above me bed. I was ready to faint--- Until suddenly Jessie; a guide appeared to check the mattress. He lifted the mattress and I watched in amazement as the spider crawled an inch away from my toes, back into its nesting area. The whole night fear overtook me, a thought of being attacked by the seven spiders at once. I even rolled onto other people’s mattress just to avoid being a spider shield for everyone else. Eventually as I fell asleep, I realized how physically and mentally draining the day had been.
As I closed my eyes that night I realized the true meaning of Pura Vida: A person must do what they fear, in order to enjoy their lives.
The cave accommodations: my bed was the one flat on the ground, in the far back.
Ever since that moment, I have installed that thinking process deep into my head. Whenever I fear anything, I will purposely do it. This is a way my brain has learned to fight of fears, however I'm not the only one who realizes this. Fighting your fears is engraved in our daily american ideology. Attempting to become fearless is as much a part of us as the constitution itself. We fight against our fears constantly to achieve the fearless image we desire. How do you fight with your fears?
