A month ago I hopped on a plane and got my tight ass to South Africa to volunteer at Lion Park. Apparently, my quarter-life crisis is suicidal or something. That’s the only reason I can think of to justify what I did. Well, that and all the amazing TV specials on Discovery Channel.
Either way, I was hoping to do something to give back to the world instead of just being beautiful because, while my gene pool is just fabulous, I seriously doubt it is actually contributing to wildlife preservation. That and I also wanted to travel somewhere exotic and burn my dad’s black AmEx.
So I decided to go to Lion Park and regretted it immediately after the payment passed. Oh, my God! What the hell was I going to do in Africa? I mean, I could spend a whole month doing my boyfriend at the beach or sleeping with strangers in Paris. I am so not used to camping or sweating or picking shit up or hard work.
Well, yolo.
This was perhaps the most incredible experience I could ever have. I am so happy to have gone to South Africa – despite the fact that I no longer smell of Chanel but of lion pee – and gotten out of my comfort zone. I took care of lions, camped among zebras, antelopes and giraffes, walked with cheetahs and elephants, held humongous snakes in my hands and swam with sharks, and I didn’t die like I thought i would, much to my surprise.
It was a period of my life when even the littlest thing was something new to me. An experience that showed me what I am capable of and just how big a repercussion even the tiniest action can have in the life of another living being.
I loved the ‘Me’ that I met down there. The ‘Me’ that takes risks and is not afraid of what might happen next. The ‘Me’ that survives so far away from home and comes back victorious. The ‘Me’ that does stuff not only for himself, but for others.
Out of all the crazy and weird decisions I’ve made throughout my life, volunteering was the best and most rewarding one. It was something I was so afraid of doing and I’m truly happy I went through with it.
Also, everyone in South Africa is so fucking hot.
