Something’s Definitely In The Water
This past weekend me and few of my closest friend me headed down to Virginia Beach for College Beach Weekend, which so happened to be that same weekend that Pharrell hosted the Something’s in the water music festival. This trip was something that I would never forget; the experiences and adventures that we had will be something I always remember.
So we left D.C around mid morning on Friday to get down the road, it was actually a peaceful road trip. Riding shot gun with my best friend in the drivers seat. I hadn’t seen her weeks and it’s rare for us to see each other, so this weekend was something special that we were looking forward to. Along on this trip was my other roommate Trisha Sharell was there was happened to be sleeping in the back seat most of the trip. Then my friend DeeJay in the other seat asleep just like her.
We had arrived to our hotel early, so we decided to sit around to wait for it to be time to check in. So we just sat in the car listening to music. As 3:00 comes around it is time to go check in. My best friend was the one who reserved the two rooms that we were staying in for the weekend. My friend DeeJay had gotten out to head inside to use the bathroom Time passes and he comes out to the car at that same moment my best friend sends me a text message telling me that the front desk are trying to tell her she did not book the room. When in all actuality she booked the room a month in advance because of the festivities that were happening that weekend in Virginia Beach. The man at the desk was trying to make her pay again for the two rooms that she booked a month in advance because it didn’t show on his screen.
So as time passes she sends me a message and tells me to call a number and give her the phone. At that same time a police car starts to pull up next to us. At this point we are all shook, and didn’t know what to do. She then sends another message telling us to move the car. At the same time the officer steps up to our car and says something to us about moving it. I get out of the car to check on my best friend and I can say I have never seen her so emotional in my life. She is not the type to get angry or emotional in situations. While all this is happening I am trying to calm her down, and all you hear on the phone is the company she booked the hotel through talking to the desk clerk telling him that she paid the hotel fees. Then out of no where this man starts to yell at the women on the phone, so I can only imagine the way he was talking to my best friend.
As a young, tall, dark skin African American women growing up in this age of America with police brutality happening everyday like it has become the norm. Not only my best friend but all of us have to carry ourselves a certain way when we encounter law enforcement, in public spaces, and even in school. We always have to be on our guard for anything that can happen. For her to have the police called on her when she did nothing wrong and have a man yell in her face for no reason at all. I can only imagine the anger, frustration, and fear for her life that she felt at that moment.
There was really nothing that I could say to calm her down, except for be with her at that moment in time. That one encounter changed the course of our trip for the rest of the weekend. From then on we experienced one adventure after another. My other friend Trisha Sharell unfortunately got bitten by bed bugs at that same hotel that tried to get my best friend to pay again for her rooms. At that moment it was the final straw, we all packed up our belongings and left to go to another hotel. But there were some good times.
Every time we went to Waffle House for breakfast were able to fill our belly’s with good food, and have great conversations about life, politics, fashion, and much more. Then the time we spent at beach I saw so many old friends, and made some new ones. We didn’t get any tickets to the festival but we were able to enjoy the gospel concert that happened on the beach on Sunday. While listening to the music and watch the crashing waves splash down on the sand that sent a blissful chill down my spine.
While me and my best friend where walking on the beach taking pictures it was just as peaceful for us as the drive down was. At that moment in time I felt she was finally calm and at peace. This trip was one for books, I learned so much about life and being able to find your inner peace in the midst of a world full of hate.
There is this one quote by Don Miguel Ruiz that says “Just imagine becoming the way you used to be as a very young child, before you understood the meaning of any word, before opinions took over your mind. The real you is loving, joyful, and free. The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.” While walking on the beach with my best friend all I could do was think about this quote and how we were all so care free as children and in that moment in time i was taken back to my childhood.
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