The three days that I spent at wishtoyo were powerful and i had such a great time. The first day we went down and got greeted with songs, also we had visited a part of the beach that the sea had taken over and their was barely any land to stand on without the water touching you. Afterwards we celebrated my Nana’s birthday (Julia Bogany). I felt special and grateful to still have my great grandparents in my life supporting me and teaching me about my culture. The first night i slept it was just a bit cold by the water, but very outstanding. Another great thing was that my family was their and i felt lucky that they got to see what im up to. When i woke up i had to do my daily things the way that our ancestors did, and it wasnt easy. We also had a sunrise ceremony which woke me up along with breakfast. Later on some kids and mentors went down to the beach to go swimming. It had been a while since i have gotten in the ocean, and felt the strong connection. Afterwards we had classes that groups of kids split up to do. I really enjoyed the oceanography part because it drawed me in, and caught my attention. Then everyone took a moment to look at the stars at night, and see part of the milkyway. The stars caught my attention. The next morning we all were excited to go surfing and or swimming. I was overthinking about wether i should surf or not. I was afraid of wiping out, so for the first half of the time i was boogy boarding because i saw many people falling. After i saw that, each time they got back up, tried again, learned from their mistakes, and got better. So i decided to try it, and the next thing i know i was having the time of my life, and i may have fallen a couple of time here and there. Just remember that its not about how many times that you fall, its about the times that you got up.
~ Marissa Aranda (DancingButterfly)
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