Ahhh, destination weddings– don’t you just love em?! It’s a vacation and celebration all in one, a great combo of built-in activities and free time to explore and do your own thing.

Just last week, I travelled to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to watch my older cousin tie the knot. It was a blast! She was absolutely stunning on her special day and I was beaming with pride and joy for her.

Just look: how gorgeous is she?!

I even took a trip down the aisle myself… as her bridesmaid, of course!

The wedding itself was beautiful. I was so happy to spend time around my family and enjoy the lovely island of St. Thomas. There were a few more highlights:

1. The beach!!

We took a quick ferry ride to St. John and enjoyed Trunk Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

1 1/2. This guy 🙂

2. Scuba Diving

I went scuba diving for the first time!

Let’s talk about this experience for a minute…

Have you ever planned out an adventure in your head, got all geared up and ready for it then realized that what you set out to do was scarier than you thought?!

Have you ever hyped yourself up, even mentally prepared yourself for an adventure only to find out that no matter what, your mind and body can backfire and actually try to prevent you from doing something that it perceives as a danger?

All of the above happened to me last week during my first shot at scuba diving!

I was perfectly fine and excited all the way through the verbal instruction part: air tank gauge- check, clearing my ear blockage- check, getting water from under your face mask- check, securing the ventilator if it falls out of my mouth underwater, check.

With tank on, flippers in hands and excitement bubbling over, I followed my instructor into the shallow water only to be shocked at my own inability to actually submerge my head under water, even while breathing through the ventilator! I completely froze up, y’all!

I was equipped with all the knowledge I needed for my first dive but almost psyched myself out of an amazing adventure.

Almost… Because guys, we RALLIED!

Eventually, something clicked. maybe it was the fact that I stopped *thinking* as I watched my boyfriend and our instructor start to swim away from the shore without me! But I do remember thinking “you are OK. You can breathe, you can see and you’re with a professional diver. The danger level here is very low…” And with those words of encouragement, I “punched myself in the chest” and started swimming like Ariel!

The experience was so beautiful that at one moment while underwater, I started weeping. Being completely submerged in water and surrounded by numerous organisms that I’d never heard of or had only seen in National Geographic was as surreal as it gets.

By the time I started to master the whole exhale-completely-clear-your-ears-every-few-meters-look around-and-enjoy-the-sights-at-the-same-damn-time routine, our 40min dive was ending and I’d already fallen in love with a new sport.

3. Hotel Art!

I always take a self-guided tour through the hotels I visit, just to see what kind of art they’re working with. I found the delightful pieces below at our resort.

Time to head home…

So let’s talk! What adventures have you backed out of because of fear? When did you last refuse to allow fear to keep you from something new?

Artfully,