Beach sunset. Wilderness and Adventure Therapy for Young Adults. Pure Life in Costa Rica.a

A Critical Reflection by Anonymous Pure Life Student “Amy”

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Here is a note from Amy:

A large aspect of my time at Pure Life was theraputic. On trail, the guides would  always be there to talk about any emotional discrepencies we were experiencing and once a week on campus days I met with a therapist. Though I was less than thrilled with the therapy at first, being able to constantly work on myself for four months proved to be more than beneficial. With the help of my therapist, the guides, and even my fellow peers, I was able to uncover and identify a lot of emotional stressors that had previously troubled me.

The people I met at pure life, from my therapist to the guides to the students, are people that are pivotal to my life. These people became my family and for everyone I met at Pure Life I am eternally grateful. x

Living La Vida Pura

We, as individuals, are a collection of our experiences. Experience shapes us, and in some cases, transforms us. I am eternally grateful for the experience of a lifetime that changed me. After getting myself into trouble throughout high school, I knew I needed help. I managed to graduate early and decided to take a leap of faith-I left everything behind to live in the Costa Rican for four months. Living here transformed me physically, mentally and spiritually. High school sucked the life out of me. I became involved with the wrong people and the wrong substances. I was trapped between the person I knew I could be and the haze of who I was. As time progressed, I digressed. I found few rays of light among my dark life, just barely enough to get me up in the mornings. One day I lost it; I cracked. I stopped going to school, my drug abuse became out of control, and I wasn’t me. The light in my eyes had faded to nothing more than a mere memory, and even I could see that. I knew something had to change. My best friend had gone through similar troubles a year before. He was currently in a treatment program across the country. With nowhere to go, I turned to him. “What should I do Peter? I’m lost,” I confided in him. “Get out of Andover, Amy. You need to get out.”

I worked tirelessly, making up my missed school work and documenting hours at Planet Fitness to compensate for a gym credit. I needed a change in scenery, and graduating early was the first step in doing so. I was determined to graduate early, and that is exactly what I did.

Between guidance counselors and educational consultants, I found a variety of options. I decided I wanted to partake in an outdoor adventure therapy program; a program that was for adolescents who were stuck and struggling with psychological or addictive deficits surrounding executive function. Transitional programs help those in trouble to get back on their feet and prepare them for their next step in life.

My next step was college in the fall and I needed help transitioning to stability before this. All of the programs had their pros and cons, but it was the one in a foreign country that enticed me. I wanted to get as far away from Andover as possible; Costa Rica sounded perfect.

The principles of Pure Life (the program’s name), greatly appealed to me. Pure Life based their individual and group treatment on adventure therapy, leadership training, motivational and vocational development and community service. I couldn’t find a single flaw in this program.  It was then I decided to take my leap of faith. No reason to stay is a good reason to go, I figured. February 21st, 2014 marked the beginning of the rest of my life.

I left with a lethargic mind and body, clouded by thoughts of elsewhere and THC; I was ready to be reinvigorated. Before going to Costa Rica, I was physically unhealthy, and looking back at pictures it is now apparent how sick I truly looked on the outside. My first day there, I hiked two miles, entirely uphill, with thirty pounds on my back. Throughout the entire hike all I wanted to do was book the next flight home. I was miserable and physically unprepared. Then we arrived at the destination: a cave hidden behind a waterfall. It was surreal. That night, my two guides and I sat atop the two hundred foot waterfall and watched the sunset over the Pacific Ocean and Las Tumbas Valley. It was at that moment I understood that the most difficult journeys lead to the most magnificent rewards. I was ready to embark on my journey.

Food was the first physical adjustment my body underwent. Fast food and impurities do exist in Costa Rica, however, not in the wilderness. I was living in the middle of forests, in tents alongside rivers, and with families who provide for themselves. Out there, there are no additives. I became self sufficient in cooking and preparing my own meals, as well as carrying them on my back. We ate chickens straight from the farms we tended to, drank directly from the cows we milked, and were kept busy at all hours of the day.

During my stay I was blessed with the opportunity to work on Ranch Tinamu. Ranch Tinamu overlooked a mountain range and a trail in the back of the property led straight to a waterfall. On this Ranch I lived with a family that was fully self-sufficient. Behind the pig pens, they had a biodigestor, which was a machine made by my host family that converted the methane and feces left behind by the pigs into energy to fuel parts of their ranch. Every morning they woke up before the sun rose and milked the cows and tended to the chickens and pigs. Living and working here helped me to appreciate the purity of the food I was preparing as well as their full utilization of the natural resources. In order to get to some of the families we stayed with, we would have to backpack over eight miles a day through strenuous terrain. I carried all of my belongings on my back, along with some of the food for our group. We were constantly kinetic.

Every morning we set aside time for yoga and meditation, and every day consisted of an intensive itinerary. Depending on the week, I was either surfing, sea kayaking, white water rafting, rock climbing or backpacking among other activities. I fell in love with adventure. I discovered ways to be active, and loved every second of it. The kind of activities I would do didn’t feel like work, they were fun, and I grew stronger.

Going away and being healthy for four months did wonders to my body; I was strong and I looked it. The first thing a friend of mine said to me when I got back was, “Amy, you’re literally glowing,” and I was.

High school exhausted me. I had no further desire to learn. I was lost in my lack of studies and my own body. Costa Rica educated me in education; I was now eager to learn. A big part of the program I was traveling in was the curriculum. Instead of the monotonous  subjects in school we learned Earth, Fire, Air and Water, each pertaining to vital, and relevant, aspects of life. I learned about grit, and how to persevere in everything I do; setting boundaries in the failed relationships in my life; setting goals and how to set myself up for success in reaching them; and how to live with the end means in perspective. Having these things taught to me was far more invaluable than an equation of how to find an algebraic variable. The lessons I learned here gave me the tools I needed to find myself. I also went through two intensive certification courses: Wilderness First Aid and Swift Water Rescue.

The skills I learned in these classes are things that I could perform both locally, in cases of an emergency, or professionally. There were also mental transformations I went through outside of the class. Living in a tight knit group of nine students with three field guides in an outdoor setting was different, to say the very least. We learned how to depend on one another, how to trust, and how to ask for help. I had no phone or access to any technology for four months, all I had were these nine peers. The lessons they taught me, without even necessarily knowing it, have aided me in fixing and rebuilding the failed relationships in my past. Living outdoors also facilitated many skills: building a fire, pitching a shelter, first aid, and finding food and basic necessities for survival.

Living with the various Costa Rican families also taught me so much. I was able to directly experience an entirely new culture. Our social norms in America consist of using a computer and FaceTiming; theirs consist of milking cows and gardening. The natural ways of the families are so beautiful to me. A large part of my program was the insistency of sobriety; this, I was originally not happy about. For the first few weeks I had difficulties eating and sleeping, and vivid dreams that would cause me to wake in panic. Slowly but surely, I overcame it. I learned how to be happy without substances and how it feels to be sober. It was amazing. I could think clearly, perform optimally, and slowly create my own happiness. It was as though a fog had been lifted; I was finally starting to see the beauty of a sober and healthy brain.

Spirituality has a broad definition. To me, spirituality is a state that gives meaning to one’s life. Before I left for Costa Rica, I found no purpose in my being. I felt as though I had no reason to live. My experiences in Costa Rica showed me how much beauty there is in life and how to find meaning in even the smallest of things.

One particular event vividly stands out to me. I remember the damp forest soaking through my hiking boots and squelching in between my socks. The humidity caused my glasses to steam as I wondered where we were headed. A pillar of smoke arose from behind a brush. We climbed the small ladder onto the platform of rocks, approaching our destination. To my surprise, I saw a little hut-like abode, made entirely from stone. A cloth sheet covered the entrance, and the smoke billowing out of the chimney danced into the cloudy afternoon sky. Before we entered we had to cleanse ourselves. There was strict silence at this point, and confusion and anxious excitement was etched upon our faces. We all dipped into the chilling waters of the river, goosebumps running wild among us. It was now time for us to enter the sauna. Each ritual lasted for ten minutes, and they were split by cleansing in the river. The three rounds had specific purposes to them: one to forgive, one to reflect, and one to envision. At the end of each round we chanted a sacred Spanish hymn, one used by natives hundreds of years ago. After the final cleanse the strict silence rule was lifted, yet all of us remained quiet. The spiritual experience marveled us all; I felt renewed. It was unexplainable.

The natural sauna experience helped me to gain insight into myself, and it genuinely acted as a cleansing of my soul. Being constantly surrounded by nature for four months also did wonders for my spiritual being. I was awoken by the sound of Howler monkeys each morning and fell asleep to the song of cicadas and crickets each night. Nature truly is the world’s best medicine. Distancing myself from technology and various medias helped clear the constant static around my life and helped me focus on my own being.

A particular ritual that I found spiritually invigorating was the practices of yoga and meditation. Every morning, after breakfast and before our activities, we formed a yoga circle, and then set aside ten minutes for meditation. Meditating every morning helped me to reflect on my being and to focus my energy for the day. It has become a crucial coping mechanism for me as well. My original expectations of Costa Rica included nothing of spiritual insight; I was unaware of how greatly my soul would grow/flourish along my journey.

Home is where the heart is, and my heart will forever be in Costa Rica. I have more of a family there than I could have ever dreamt of, and friends that no distance nor drug could come between. Leaving Massachusetts was one of the easiest decisions I had ever made, I had no reason to stay and no one to leave behind. Leaving Costa Rica on the other hand, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Saying goodbye felt as though my heart was caving in. Between leaving my family, home, having flight delays and layovers, and sprinting from terminal to terminal, I was a mess, but I was ready to showcase the new me.
“We have officially arrived in Boston. Thank you for flying Jet Blue,” the pilot spoke as one final tear of mixed emotion crawled down my cheek. Looking out the window and seeing the illuminated skyline was a pretty sight, but I missed the extraordinary views of the valleys and rivers and campus; I already missed my home. I went to baggage claim and was greeted by the familiar faces of my parents with a ‘Welcome Home Amy’ sign. My mom immediately started crying, and my parents marveled at how happy and healthy I looked. They could visibly see the transformation I went through. Without makeup I was the most beautiful I had ever felt. The light had finally come back into my eyes.


Pure Life could be a life changing solution for young adults that are struggling to make decisions about college or the next phase of their life due to barriers related to depression, anxiety, executive and social skill deficits or drug/alcohol use.

Click here to find out if Pure Life is Right for Your Son or Daughter

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