I took a trip to Colombia in 2018 with two of my girlfriends and wrote these thoughts about the trip right after we arrived home. Travel with me to Cartagena and Bogota, Colombia through words.

Life is all about the ups and the downs, the highlights and lows, and choosing to be positive and continue sharing love despite the lows makes getting through adversity more bearable.

With that said, I needed this trip, though I have so many other things that require my attention and effort, this vacation from my daily thoughts, tasks and reality didn't interrupt my dreams...in fact, it cleared space for them to thrive. There were highs and lows in Colombia, as there are in life, but the good always outweighed the bad.

Let's start with the energy, sun and culture in Cartagena. Home to many who may be poor economically, but who are rich in spirit, pride and determination. Everybody works hard and they look out for each other. Though some were very aggressive and relentless with solicitation to the point of causing vexation for myself and my friends, I respected their drive and tipped when I used services.

The bath in the mud volcano and lunch by the sea was a great experience, but we quickly learned we should've negotiated a better price for our excursions. We called our taxi driver Eduardo, who'd taken us from the airport to the hotel when we arrived. He'd already told us we weren't given a fair price, but we wanted to honor our agreement made before the trip.

Eduardo was honest, fair and funny af. He flirted with most of the ladies he encountered, but never with us. He told us about his life in Chicago and in Colombia, and at 64, shared that he lives everyday to the fullest and wanted us to have a great trip. And, he did all he could to ensure we did.

When a taxi driver in Cartagena drove us around pretending to be lost to make more money, God countered that with a nice man in a store who spoke English and helped us by giving us Pesos for USD and telling the driver he was wrong.

You absolutely need pesos here and you need to know some basic Spanish. Every country does not cater to Americans and they don't have to, so be prepared.

Eduardo told us not to go to Bogota because it's cold and the racism and classism is intense, he said go to Medellin, but we were already booked and promised to make the best of it (there's that positive attitude to counter adversity). We immediately felt the cold temperature and energy upon entering the airport in Bogota.

It was different.

Brown faces in the crowd and on advertisements were few or non-existent. In Cartagena they were every where, appreciated and welcomed. Don't get me wrong, most people were nice. But, when we went to the mall that night to get jackets for this fall weather, lol (65° during the day/ 45°-50° at night), I personally encountered a woman who stopped and stared me down with such intensity her racist energy devoured my being. I made the mistake of not moving my brown body out of her way though she was behind me when we entered the mall. So, if you know me, you know I stopped...pulled my shoulders back , put my head up higher and stared her down, without words, like the black queen I am. Confirming to her, through energy, that I had every right to exist and thrive in this space and that I would not diminish under her condescending gaze. She walked away.

That energy stayed with me and I tried to make sense of it, but hate doesn't make sense, it destroys humanity and seeks to devour dignity. I processed it. My friends countered it with positive words, and when we encountered it again the next day, I didn't absorb it.

The next day we realized the taxi driver from the night before had used the language barrier to switch good bills for counterfeit ones and again, processed the energy and decided to focus on the good.

We have had an amazing trip. So many great moments and great people. Playa Blanca, Monserrate, Juan del Mar Restaurante, where we had some of the best paella I've ever tasted. Good vibes and conversations with Eduardo, a woman from South Africa, and a trio from California who work for a video game company and travel the world to promote their games. We enjoyed the grafitti tour, food and Salt Cathedral in Bogota. Our tour guide Alejandro, told us about how many Colombians feel about Pablo Escobar, the organized crime and corrupt politicians and police here. We appreciated the real and unfiltered conversation.

I’m coming home with baggage that contains great expereinces and valuable lessons. You have to transform the bad into good, otherwise it will consume you. And who has time for that? There is so much more to be grateful for.