Me in front of the Sunrise at 5:47 AM

“Oh, my God!” I gasp under my breath in exultation at 6:14 AM as I return to record my thoughts for you. Last night, I slept with Alex, Maggie, Lizzie, Rachel, Steve, Lauren, and Alli under two pavilions on a tarp that was a mere 10 meters from the Caribbean Sea on two sides in Cahuita National Park.

Time: 5:49 AM. I love that my camera saves the time!

We arrived at out “campsite” somewhat by accident. Last night we hiked 3 K with our packs through the jungle in the rain to reach the beach. When we finally made it there we were quickly intercepted by a team of international researchers who chastised us for using flashlight around Leatherback-turtle breeding grounds. Cara from Canada requested with a shaky voice, “Please come with me. You are not supposed to be here.” After dusk and before dawn every day, a group is responsible for patrolling the beach to protect these gentle giants of the sea from poachers.

Time: 5:50 AM.

It was a little frightening running into them and as of yet I do not know if we will receive any punishment. Honestly right now, as I stand in the surf wearing a tank top and bikini bottom watching the sunrise, I don’t care. I feel euphoric and softly sing the Methodist hymn, “Daylight is breaking like the first morning.” I wish I could feel religious and thank Jesus but instead I feel enamored with life and the brilliant orb rising over the waves. It is something we often forget about in our daily cycle of rotations and revolutions. We often think that the world revolves around us. Sunrises like this one assure me that we are wrong. About a half hour ago, I sat awestruck thinking about how some moments are so beautiful that you forget everything else exists. This is one. Most people are asleep, the only sound I hear is the crash of waves, the crackle of sea foam, and the patter of a light sprinkle.

Time: 5:50 AM.

I stand on a narrow stretch of black, sand beach with rotting drift wood on either side of me and palm trees four feet behind me; their roots are washing against my ankles. Neither the roots, the wood, the quiet bird in the coconut tree, nor I would be here without the warming solar rays of the great star that earth’s rotation is revealing to me right now.

Time: 5:55 AM.

When in high school, I considered learning the physics behind rainbows a horrible event that took away some of the magic from the world. Now I have the wisdom to realize that as long as you have the freedom to escape from your concrete cage every once in a while, studying science will make you appreciate the world with an even greater sense of wonder.

Time: 5:55 AM.

While I stare at the rising sun, I visualize our earth tilted on its axis, zipping along its course, reigned in by the sun’s gravity in the billion year old dance with her sister planets of our solar system and the other solar systems of the Milky Way.

Time: 5:59 AM.

What are the chances that our Earth is the only planet that hosts life? It terrifies me to ponder the magnitude of space as well as the time scale that it took life to evolve from single-celled algae, to complex sea creatures, to coelacanths and small rodents, to me writing at 7:15 AM with a bic mechanical pencil on a soggy notebook made out of banana paper.

Time: 5:59 AM.

I encourage others to study abroad because the stress of being outside your comfort zone causes you to critically consider your socio and cultural values. It won’t change who you are fundamentally as a person, but it will broaden your horizons.

Time: 6:00 AM.

A life changing discovery for me is that I don’t think I have maturity yet for graduate school which had previously been the next step in my plan. You see, I currently want a PhD for the wrong reason. I want the prestige, glamour, and higher salary.

Time: 6:02 AM.

Right now I am a generalist Environmental Science Major and I don’t feel as though I know what topic I want to dedicate years to carefully observing, analyzing, and researching in depth. I have several good ideas but I don’t know what I want my life’s work to be just yet.

Time: 6:04 AM.

And that’s ok. The sun will still rise in the east and set in the west. Tectonic action will continue to raise up the land and the rain and water pressure will continue to erode it away. Along with all these processes, my skin will wrinkle, and my body will age, as I build memories and find my way.

(ON A PRAGMATIC NOTE: LET ME KNOW IF YOU KNOW OF ANY ENVIRONMENTAL SUMMER JOBS WITH DECENT PAY!)