As I stood on top of a bridge, looking at the water 15 feet below me, I knew there were only two options: jump or walk back down.
I weighed the pros and cons in my head.
Cons: There are rocks, you could slip and fall on said rocks, you could die.
Pros: The adrenaline, saying you did it, living.
I jumped.
I grew up in a town that country musicians sing about. The “one-stop-light-town” where “everybody knows everybody” was my reality. My whole family lived down one road along with our cows, pigs and crawfish ponds. My cousins’ house was, and still is, basically in my backyard.
I went to an elementary school where the 12 people in my Pre-K class were the same 12 people that I graduated from 8th grade with.
Everyone was content. Everyone was happy.
I loved every second of it.
But I had this sense of wonder. There has to be more to this world than the 3,000 people in my hometown in south Louisiana.
Thankfully, my mom was like me, and traveling was always a priority for our family.
From a young age, my sister and I were on flights to different states or taking cross-country roadtrips.
We’ve seen the beautiful beaches of San Diego, the bright lights of Manhattan, the deep valleys of the Grand Canyon, the historical monuments in Washington D.C., the smoky mountains in Tennessee, the snowy slopes of Colorado, the many casinos of Las Vegas and the clear water in Puerto Rico.
Like I said, traveling was a priority.
However, it was always with family. We always did everything together.
But when I saw the advertisement for the Olympics Project, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
Getting accepted into this program was a long shot, so when I got the email that started with “congratulations,” I knew I had to make the most of every opportunity.
When I go back home, I want to have zero regrets, so I’ve made a promise to myself. If there’s an opportunity to jump, do it. If there’s an opportunity to say yes, say it.
Because I now know that there is more to this world than the 3,000 wonderful people in my hometown. And I can’t wait to go home and tell them all about how the Seine compares to the lovely crawfish ponds in Kaplan, Louisiana.
With love,
Ava <3
