I was 20 years old. I had planned a trip to Panama City Beach, Florida for *Spring Break* with my roommate and good friend, Kylie. After doing the math we determined that we would need about $1,000 to cover gas, lodging, meals, and most importantly UCDM, alcohol! We craved the nightlife, cute boys and the beach and were determined to have the experience of a lifetime, as so many before us had raved about.

My father had promised a $500 contribution which was going to cover my half of the trip expenses. As our departure date came closer and closer, all I could think and talk about was how much fun we were going to have on *Spring Break* in Florida. I had never seen the ocean and had only traveled to surrounding states. This was a BIG deal for me!

Unfortunately, as trip day approached I still hadn’t received the $500 that my father had promised me. He had let me down AGAIN and I was devastated AGAIN. “How could he do this to me?!” I thought. I was enraged and hurt. My father had a reputation of empty promises and this time was no different than every other time he had let me down.

Here’s where it gets sweet: I made the decision that I was going to go and I was going to wing it. Somehow, someway I would figure it out and I wasn’t going to let this disappointment keep me from experiencing the trip that I had been dreaming about and planning for so long. I would go with every penny to my name, which totaled $102 (twenty of which was in change).

Looking back at it all now I wonder what I was thinking… but at the same time I can deeply appreciate the beauty of what happened when I took that leap of faith. I can see that this leap is what allowed the Universe to deliver.

So we got our map out and highlighted the major highways that would take us to paradise and we drove away without looking back. On the trip down we decided that we would “invest” in $1 scratch off lottery tickets – one for each of us every time we stopped for gas. (I’m seriously cracking up over here remembering how this all went down!)