A Lesson in Mental Health at ‘Trash Beach’

Several Wisconsin Farm Bureau members travelled to Puerto Rico for the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in January. The conference was an amazing experience full of new knowledge, great friends and unforgettable memories. Attendees explored the diverse tourist and agricultural attractions that the island had to offer.

On the final day of our trip, a group of us decided to take a ferry to another island off the coast of Puerto Rico. A two-hour drive led to a surprise pocket of downpouring rain while waiting in line to get tickets. “Don’t worry, the weather is great on the island,” they said.

Up next, our 45-minute ferry ride ended up taking us an hour and a half, not including boarding and wait times. “Don’t worry, you can rent golf carts and explore the island faster that way,” they said. We later found out it was going to be another hour’s wait and $150 per cart for the two hours we had left on the island. What were we going to do?

The choice became simple as we ventured to the nearest grocery store and purchased supplies to have a picnic. We went to the closest beach that we could find, which was totally unoccupied except for one local. He informed us that it used to be a junkyard that is pretty clean now, minus the shipwrecked boat, shopping carts and souvenirs of trash around the corner, hence its nickname, Trash Beach.

We tried drawing Farm Bureau designs in the sand to take photos, just to have the ocean wash it away…twice! However, we did end up getting some beautiful sunset pictures before we boarded back onto the ferry.

Although the day was full of ‘Is this really happening?’ moments, we couldn’t have planned a better day. Our crew turned every crappy situation into a positive and laughed until we thought we all had six-pack abs!

As we head into May Mental Health Month, our Trash Beach experience led to a few shareable life lessons. The locals we met reminded us to take care of ourselves because, at the end of the day, we need our health to get us through another one.

Source: wfbf.com

Photo Credit: Wisconsin Farm Bureau