Experiencing Beauty in Punta Cana

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being a woman who just casually goes on vacation. Even typing that makes me laugh a little, because this version of life feels so beautiful but also foreign to me. Traveling is still new enough to feel exciting, but familiar enough now that I can really settle into it and enjoy it.

I’ve been back from Punta Cana for a few days now, and I keep thinking about this trip in a way I didn’t expect. Not even about the resort or the food or the views, although all of that was beautiful. The word that keeps coming up for me is just… beauty. Not in the obvious way, but in how I experienced everything from start to finish.

And I think a lot of that comes from knowing what the other side looked like before. From income-based housing to this… and understanding just how much my life has changed.

I think a big part of that is I’ve been choosing to find beauty in every situation, even the ones that don’t go as planned. The start of this vacation tested that a little bit. The weather in North Carolina was a mess, our flight was delayed for hours, and for a minute it looked like we might lose the whole day. I remember having that split second where I could’ve gone down the path of being irritated about it, but I chose not to. Instead I shifted. I was like, we’re leaving this chaos and going somewhere peaceful, and that alone felt good. By the time we actually arrived, it didn’t even feel like we had lost anything. If anything, it made me appreciate being there even more… like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

The resort itself was AMAZING! We stayed at Excellence Punta Cana, and I can honestly say the experience matched the energy I was in the entire week.

Everything felt clean, calm, and intentional. You could tell people took pride in what they were doing. The staff especially stood out to me. Literally everyone was so warm and friendly. It never felt forced or scripted, it just felt like they were paying attention. I’m not used to that level of care without having to ask for it, so I found myself noticing it more than anything else. It felt… thoughtful. As someone who constantly thinks of others with little reciprocity, that meant the world!

But if I’m being real, the most impactful thing about this trip had little to do with the resort. The aesthetic was immaculate but the impact was me.

This was my first vacation after my mommy makeover, and I don’t think I realized just how much that was going to affect me mentally. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t thinking about how to position my body, what to hide, or how I looked or smelled walking past people. I felt comfortable. I felt beautiful in a way that wasn’t tied to an outfit or a good angle, just me being fully in my body and proud of myself. That alone made this trip different.

I moved so differently overall. I used to drink heavily in social situations to take the edge off or to feel more relaxed in my surroundings. Completely unhealthy, I know and we’ve been working through it boo. This trip, I drank because I enjoy drinking, and that was it. It wasn’t about numbing my feelings or dulling my senses. Hell, I didn’t even finish a full bottle of tequila the whole week, which is something I wouldn’t have expected from myself before.

The same goes for how I carried myself. I wasn’t questioning whether I belonged there. I walked around like I had every right to be there, because I do. And if you’ve ever dealt with imposter syndrome, you know that shift doesn’t happen overnight. The gag is though, we are EXACTLY who we think we are.

Because I wasn’t in my head the whole time, I was actually able to take things in. There were a few moments that really stayed with me. Sitting at dinner one night, looking out at the water, I had one of those quiet realizations about how far life has come. When Yancey and I met, things looked completely different. I was a single mom of three, doing my best but struggling. We were figuring things out in real time, stretching money, making it work however we could. So to sit there now, in that moment, in that environment, it really hit me that this is the life I used to imagine. And if I’m being honest, I don’t know that I fully believed I would ever get here. That realization alone brought a level of gratitude that’s hard to explain. It was a huge, world shifting revelation but it arrived with no announcement. It was just… there.

Now let’s talk about pace. I am the definition of a busybody. I will always find something that I just have to do but did my best to make sure nothing felt rushed the entire week. I woke up when my body wanted to wake up. When I went for coffee, I actually sat and drank it… no. I savored it. There was no plan and yet that WAS the plan. That’s it. And it made me realize how used I am to always being in motion, even when I think I’m resting. Out there, my mind was quiet in a way that I haven’t experienced in a long time. Not empty, just not racing for a change.

We even had a full day where we didn’t leave the room at all. Between the swim-up pool, the sun, room service, and just being able to relax without feeling like we needed to be doing something, it ended up being one of my favorite days. There was no guilt attached to it, no feeling like we were wasting time. We were just enjoying where we were. Together. I don’t think I would’ve let myself do that before.

Ok so about this beach! It was so beautiful, but the water had red flags the entire week, so it wasn’t really swimmable. And honestly, that didn’t bother me. If anything, it made me think about how everything that looks good isn’t always meant for you to jump into. Some things are just meant to be appreciated for what they are, and that doesn’t take away from the experience.

As far as the resort itself, I don’t really have anything negative to say. And I know that can sound unrealistic, but I’m not someone who is going to go out of my way to find something wrong just to make it feel more believable. If something is good, it’s just good, and for me it was good.

What really stayed with me more than anything, though, was how I felt the entire time. My nervous system was at peace. Not just vacation relaxed, but actually at peace. No tension, no constant thinking, no feeling like I needed to recover from my life. And what blew me away was the fact that I didn’t need the trip to get me there. I showed up already at ease.

That’s when it really clicked for me that this version of my life, the one I’ve been working toward for years, I’m actually in it now. I’m not chasing it anymore, I’m living it.

If you’re reading this and you feel like you’re not where you want to be yet, please keep going. Because one day you’re going to have a moment where you look around and realize you’re sitting in something you once hoped for.

As for me, I don’t think I want to go back to the version of myself that felt rushed all the time. I understand her, and I’m grateful for her, but I don’t need to live there anymore.

I did vlog this whole trip too, and honestly… it hits different seeing it in real time. If you want to come experience it with me, it’ll be up on my YouTube 03.29.2026 so be sure to tune in and meet me in the comments!

Punta Cana was absolutely beautiful, yes. But the way I experienced it… that’s what made it stay with me.