The Jellyfish Trauma Although it was a bright new day in Costa Rica, no one in my family was expecting for this day to sting so much. It was noon and me and my friend charged into the Gulf of Mexico splashing each other with the refreshingly cold water. The water was cold as ice and was all over us giving us the taste and smell of salt water to linger on us. We eventually stopped and gazed at our surroundings and we saw our hotel and rocky cliffs that were accompanied with festive and colorful coral. What we also noticed was the palm trees towering over everyone like skyscrapers and children screaming in delight. We also heard waves crashing onto shore, birds screeching, and the wind swaying the palm trees left to right. But then we rotated
The smell of the restaurants faded and the new, refreshing aroma of the sea salt in the air took over. The sun’s warmth on my skin and the constant breeze was a familiar feeling that I loved every single time we came to the beach. I remember the first time we came to the beach. I was only nine years old. The white sand amazed me because it looked like a wavy blanket of snow, but was misleading because it was scorching hot. The water shone green like an emerald, it was content. By this I mean that the waves were weak enough to stand through as they rushed over me. There was no sense of fear of being drug out to sea like a shipwrecked sailor. Knowing all this now I knew exactly how to approach the beach. Wear my sandals as long as I could and lay spread out my towel without hesitation. Then I’d jump in the water to coat myself in a moist protective layer before returning to my now slightly less hot towel. In the water it was a completely different world. While trying to avoid the occasional passing jellyfish, it was an experience of
This past summer, my family and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. We had just docked at the second port, Nassau, and were preparing to exit the gigantic ship named the Carnival Fantasy. Once we got to the city, I noticed it was bustling with people of all different backgrounds and cultures. The roads were narrow and some even hilly. I remember coming to the conclusion that a lot of people in the Bahamas must have road rage what from the blaring car horns I could hear around every corner. My family and I were walking along the sidewalk, glancing into shops as we passed them. The weather was unbearably hot, but growing up in South Carolina allowed my family and I to push onward with our adventure. The sun burn on my back started to pulsate in pain any time the sunlight hit it, so we decided to stick to the side of the buildings that provided shade.
The cool water felt very refreshing on a warm spring day; however, anything over 50 degrees felt warm to our family who had traveled from the icy Idaho weather. My dad and we five kids waded out to where the water reached my belly button. My mom stayed on the beach. Those of us in the water splashed each other, at moments sucking in some of the salt water. To me, it tasted as if someone had poured gallons of table
The water was calm, like the morning; both were starting to get ready for the day ahead. The silent water signals that although rough times occurred previously, the new day was a new start for the world. As I went closer to the water, I heard the subtle lapping of the water against the small rocks on the shore. Every sign of nature signals a change in life; no matter how slight, a change is significant. We can learn a lot from nature: whatever happens in the natural world, change comes and starts a new occurrence. I gazed over the water to where the sky met the sea. The body of water seemed to be endless under the clear blue sky. The scope of nature shows endless possibilities. Nature impresses us with the brilliant colors of the sky, the leaves, the water. She keeps us all in our places and warns us when we are careless with her. After all the leaves have fallen from the trees, she will offer us the first snows of the year to coat the earth with a tranquil covering. That will only be after we have recognized the lessons of autumn, the gradual change from warm to cold, rain to snow, summer to winter.
Yes, I have pestered someone before. I pestered my dad when I was younger. I pestered him for me being able to play on my ipad. I couldn't have it and I just kept on asking, and asking, and asking, until he finally said yes. I don't recommend pestering someone do get what you want. Because you could get in trouble. There was this one time where I was pestering my mom, and I got in trouble. I would recommend being nice do them and then asking them politely. Doing this, you have a better chance at getting what you want.
One of my earliest childhood memories was when I broke a bone.That was the second bone I had ever broken. Breaking a bone is one of the most painful things you will ever experience in life.
Lobster has become a great delicacy for all occasions. Resembling most other people, I absolutely love lobster! While it is available to me all year round, it is served in so many ways you can’t even imagine. From the many chain restaurants to the high and prestigious diners, it is the flawless food. Not only is lobster appealing and scrumptious, it is also one of the best sources for a low-calorie protein. Broiling a fine lobster until it sprays, fizzles and crusts up in all the right places make it just so delightful that it melts you right in your seat. Grilling a beautiful salmon and noticing the skin becoming so crisp on the grill, while the core slowly turns tender underneath is beautiful, too. Furthermore, many of the troubles in the world can practically be conserved through just a couple flavor-stuffed shrimps, saturated with warm butter.
As I stepped off the plane, the warm tropical hues encased my body and sent a jolt of energy through my heart like I had just taken over 20 espresso shots. The first feeling I remember as I took my first steps onto the ground was comfort. I was home, the motherland, Puerto Rico. Excitement stirred in my mind and a feeling of peculiar longing for a place I did not grow up in and did not remember was oddly satisfied. My parents smiled like they were seeing a lover coming back from war, and that feeling was as contagious as the black plague. The island fever had entered my system and I was infected, the treatment was simply to take everything in and don’t hold back.
I was having a blast, a whole summer being at home with my friends. Until one day I got more that I bargained for.My friend, Caleb, and I were out surfing one day waiting for the tide to start rollin in. Then all of the sudden Caleb as knocked of his board. As I look around all I could see was the icy blue ocean take the appearance of a battle ground. I remember the scream that destroyed my soul. The shaking of the water coming from a man fighting for his life. I remember the words coming out of my mouth “Hey we should go surfing at Buffels bay today, it 's pretty goddamn rad there”. The feeling of guilt that took over my body, along with the fear of what will happen next. I remember the haunting image of a man missing his leg being taken away by the metal angel we call helicopters. A week later Caleb was alive, but was not left untouched like me. He was missing his left leg from the knee down, he was attacked by a great white shark. This was the moment that my life changed. I could never focus on the nightmare inducing screams, but I focused that how incredibly lucky I am to have walked away from this whole event unharmed. I focused on the fact that two months later Caleb was back into the ocean, something I could never
The class Scyphozoa has about 200 species of jellies, with a wide distribution. “True Jellyfish” have a diverse range of habitats; we can find them in salty estuaries, bays; the pelagic zone of the ocean and the abyssal depths of the ocean. Pelagic Cnidarians are found in the pelagic zone of the ocean. The term “Pelagic” literally defines to, open ocean. Scyphozoan jellyfish are keystone species, being a primary and important predator within their marine ecosystems. They have been a key species in their ecosystems throughout the Phanerozoic Period and also since the middle of the Cambrian Period, which is when fossils of major animal groups first appeared. (Hagadorn et al. 2002; Cartwright et al. 2007; Hagadorn and Belt 2008 cited by Dawson) An ancient origin of the aggregated phenomenon of scyphomedusae as been retrieved from marine fossil deposits dating back to the late Cambrian period Hagadorn et al. 2002 cited by Dawson). Scyphozoans have become more commonly criticized as an ”annoying” species, forming countless problems worldwide. Aggregations and swarms of Scyphozoan jellyfish can negatively affect important aquacultures and injure swimming bystanders. (Reword******They are also known as an invasive species clogging the water intakes of power plants, due to the high concentration of nitrate located in the waters surrounding the plant, thus adversely impacting the human lifestyle further (reword). On top of it, jellyfish also trigger poor oxygen conditions within certain waters where synchronously is the same areas that contain high counts of jellyfish carcasses are deposited***** Reword) (Arai 1997; Mills 2001; Hay 2006; Graham and Bayha 2007; Purcell et al. 2007; Pitt et al. 2009; Richardson et al. 2009; West et al. 2...
As we pulled out of my parents driveway, the circumstances seemed very surreal. My entire way of life had been turned upside down with only a few hours consideration. I was very much “at sea” in the ...
Have you ever had a moment in time that seems like minutes or hours even though it was only a few seconds? Have you ever seen everything before you play out in slow motion, where you are aware of everything around you, yet not knowing what was going on? I have, and as I look back on it, I feel very blessed and protected. On March 21, 1987, I decided to take a little swim in our swimming pool and almost drowned.
I turned off the car and took a deep breath. Looking slowly up into the pink sky, I began to watch the golden sun go to sleep. The beach seemed deserted, quiet, but peaceful. I opened my door and put my feet out on the soft sand. I started taking my shoes off, then my socks. I threw them in the passenger seat, and then shut the door. I looked out over horizon of the lake and started walking towards the still water. With each step I took, I could feel the warm sand crunch between my toes. Then suddenly, a sharp rock, but not sharp enough to break the skin.
I walk alongside the watershed filled with the bewitching hue of the sheen across the medium-sized body of water. I walk this path every day on the way home and I had noticed the change the water had taken within the last few months. I still regret not saying anything to anyone, maybe if I had we wouldn’t be in this situation. Instead of saying anything to anybody I decided to figure everything out on my own. I had to come up with a plan to do something, and I had to figure it out soon. The more I thought about it, the more I doubted that only one kid could fix the situation. Even though I had doubt I still tried to think of something I could do, I was sure the water wasn’t potable, by animals or humans! One day, when I walked by there were
In addition to that, my sister was Googling ‘2014 Zip Lining Accidents’ and proudly sharing it to my family and I. I could not deal with the tension that I was feeling, so when we were dropped off I ran to the nearest bathroom facility and had a minor episode of a nervous breakdown. However, across the stalls in bright red graffiti, I read, “Pura Vida”. With only a two-year experience of Spanish, I quickly ignored it. However, just like the ravenous mosquitos and heat, it was everywhere! I had to find out what it meant, and thanks to an adrenaline junkie native to the state of Florida, who made it clear several times that he understood both Spanish and English, I understood that ‘Pura Vida’ is a motto that the Costa Ricans live by, symbolizing both optimism and