7 Lessons I Learned in the Dominican Republic (2023) – Director, Editor – Reflective Travel Short
Riding the high of my Costa Rica trip, I eagerly joined another group tour - this time to the Dominican Republic. As with any trip, it had its highs and lows. On the up side, I met two people, Nick and Jessie, who would go on to become good friends. This trip had all the makings for an unforgettable experience with top-notch hotels, amazing sunsets, and a warm ocean. Unfortunately, the trip as a whole fell short, largely due to group tensions. It was a small group rife with conflicting personalities, with one person in particular creating a hostile atmosphere.
While editing the footage, I was stuck. Creating the film for Costa Rica had been effortless because I had such an amazing time. Capturing memorable moments came naturally, and expressing the significance of those moments was easy. This time the magic just wasn’t there. There weren’t many standout moments to record, and I struggled to find a meaningful narrative in what I had captured.
Two immediate questions ran through my mind - *How can I make something engaging from a low-adrenaline trip? And how do I authentically depict my experience without sounding ungrateful? For three months, I sat on my footage, not knowing. I started to think I wouldn’t make anything, but I realized I couldn’t be the only one who had felt disappointed while traveling. Over the next four months, I found my answers. What resulted is a short movie that represents my experience while honoring what travel can and should be.
x RJA
*At the time, I hadn’t yet confronted the difference between travel and adventure, using those terms interchangeably. Because of this, I had misguidedly thought that a trip had to be adventurous for it to be engaging. What I learned, in great-part from editing my Morocco movie, is that travel doesn’t have to be adventurous to be good or engaging.
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Hotel Balcony View
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Poolside
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Nick Posing
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Beach Dancing
