A Tall Girl in A Small World

It was 8 am and it already felt like it was 100 degrees out. I found myself standing in a dusty lot. A metal behemoth on wheels covered in wispy silks of fabric loomed behind me, blocking out the blazing sun. I was sticky with glitter and had a bright plume of feathers poking haphazardly out of my hair. It was carnival season in the Virgin Islands and I had been asked to ride on a float.
Kiki and the Flaming Gypsies, that's what they called themselves. A band of talents; jugglers, acrobats, fire spinners, and dancers, all whirled around in the bright morning light. "How did I get myself into this?", I couldn't help but think as I looked at the billowing gold fabric strapped to my shoulders. They were called Wings of Isis. I raised my arms up and waved them about cautiously, like a baby bird building up the courage to leave the nest for the first time. That's when I heard the rest of the floats approaching. Ready to spread my wings or not, it was time to take the leap.
The only way to describe a parade in the Caribbean is like a musical stampede. There were hundreds of people dressed in the most vibrant colours I had ever seen and there wasn't a single one not having the time of their life. There was a different style of music booming from the speakers on every float. Reggae, soca, Latin, jazz, hip-hop; every kind of sound you could possibly think of, all woven together hypnotically with the chatter of the people on the side-lines. The gypsies seemed to have transformed from a group of women to a circus of fire and fabric. They danced separately from one another but somehow fit together like pieces of a puzzle. The people watching the parade laughed, danced, and waved as we passed by. It felt like I had been dropped into the centre of the most brilliant kaleidoscope in the world.
A few days later I sat in the airport waiting to board a flight back home. After the glitter was gone from my hair and the sand was washed off my feet, it all felt like a Technicolor dream. I walked out onto the tarmac and was met by the warm island sun on my face for what wouldn't be the last time. The Caribbean does something amazing to people. It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, you are made to understand that you belong to something important. The people are so full of life, colour, and music that you can't help but feel like you've found your own slice of the sky here on the ground. They make you feel like your wings can take you anywhere.