Trip Through Golden Coast (Antonio Monteiro)

How My Trip Through The Golden Coast Taught Me To Become a Better Student at SBCC

When we think of someone as being successful, we normally assume that he or she is resourceful, knows how to deal with adversities, and is an action taker. Being a successful student, like any other craft, requires these three aspects that I mentioned.

But to learn how to be more resourceful, or make things happen, you don't have to just sit in front of a class, work on a job, or read a book.

In my opinion, one of the best ways to learn how to be more capable in terms of adapting to new environments, challenges, and situations, is by traveling.

And my spring break trip, a van trip down the Golden Coast through San Clemente, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Diego, Murrieta, Joshua Tree desert, and the Big Bear mountains, thought me how to become a better student.

I'll share my insights with you right now, as a way to show you that being a student here is not only about academics, but also about learning how to mature and become a helpful adult in society.

This 6-day trip was programmed with the intention of having a path, but not a strict schedule. Therefore, we just agreed that we would surf for the first two days, and then move on to the desert, and the mountains.

My friend, Pierce, owned the van with a bed, Cássio, my other friend, and I was sleeping on sleeping bags in the van as well. As you might imagine, it was not a comfortable situation. But here lies the first lesson.

Be comfortable with uncomfortable situations, because they're mostly temporary.

By sleeping in a van for 5 nights, I learned that all the discomfort that I went through to sleep, for example, thought me to value what I already have in life, and what I aspire to accomplish as well.  

The main reason lies in the fact that is going to take discipline and hard work to make a good job, at school, work, relationships and so on.

Therefore, the appreciation of discomfort changed my perspective about how to endure long study periods, work shifts, and times when I needed to push through in order to get a good result

Another lesson that I learned came by seeing so many different natural environments in such a short period of time. In 6 days we saw the beautiful spring blossoms around the salty coast, the dry, harsh and yet full of life desert in Joshua Tree, and the snowy forests of Big Bear.

All these different environments developed fairly near to each other, but yet they are different, and this was the same for me and my friends.

We came from different backgrounds, countries, and ways of living, and yet we managed to stay all the 6 days together. To see our differences, and how every one of us can be ourselves and respect the other, was very profound.

Here in California, you're going to see that is a cultural melting pot everywhere you go, so people won't necessarily live in the same way as you do, think the same things, and value the same practices.

You can get annoyed with that sometimes, as I did during the trip, to be honest. But as you learn to deal with differences in a more intimate way, the number of things that you learn about life, and yourself, are paramount.

By far, this trip was my best learning experience in terms of cultural differences. And thank the school, my friends, me, and the van (which was named Beth, by the way) for this amazing opportunity.

Learning how to deal with different environments, cultures, plans, and needs thought me how to better understand myself and apply all this knowledge towards my academic and professional progress while in here, and throughout my life.

So if you ever come here, do not miss out on traveling to different places, with people that are not very much like you.

Be impressed on how big this world is, in terms of ideologies, idiosyncrasies, and nature.