Looking Up

Written By Coach Vida

There are two Fourth of July celebrations in San Pedro. One is official. The other simply happens.

The legal fireworks painted the sky from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. with carefully choreographed bursts of light. But before they began, and long after they ended, the unofficial show echoed across neighborhoods until nearly four in the morning. One display followed a schedule. The other seemed determined to remind everyone that celebration has a way of finding its own path.

We chose the official one.

Bundled in jackets against the cool evening air, we carried lawn chairs, a blanket, snacks, and drinks to Berth 43. Judging by the families, friends, music, and picnic setups around us, plenty of others had received the same memo. People weren't in a hurry. They were simply there to be together, waiting for the sky to come alive.

I expected fireworks. What I didn't expect was what they would awaken in me.

For those moments, it became impossible to believe that anything was beyond hope. Watching light explode across the night sky has a way of silencing doubt. Every burst seemed to whisper the same quiet truth: There is still more.

I found myself thinking about the chapters of my own life, the difficult seasons, the disappointments, the grief that at times has felt so permanent. It's easy to mistake a painful chapter for the entire story. We convince ourselves that because something ended, everything has ended.

But fireworks don't ask the darkness for permission to shine. They simply do.

Standing there, looking up, I realized something I hadn't been able to put into words before. I am not finished.

The hard years are part of my story, but they are not the ending. If anything, they may simply be the final pages of one chapter before another begins. Sometimes hope doesn't arrive with answers. Sometimes it arrives as a reminder. A reminder to keep looking up. A reminder that beauty still exists. A reminder that possibility often appears where we least expect it…Maybe that's why we gather each year to watch the sky. Not because we need another fireworks show. But because every once in a while, we need something that reminds us to believe again.

Watch the Fireworks

Take a few minutes to watch the fireworks from San Pedro before continuing.

As you watch, don't rush through it. Notice what comes to mind. Notice what you feel. Then come back and spend a few moments with the Jounral Reflection below.

Journal Reflection

  • What chapter of your life are you in right now?

  • Is there a part of your story you've been treating as the ending when it may only be a transition?

  • What possibilities have you stopped believing in?

  • What would it look like to believe that your story isn't finished yet?

  • What's one small step you can take this week toward the life you're still becoming?

Keep moving. Your story isn't finished yet.

-Coach Vida

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Coach Vida

Coach Vida is the voice behind FormaFit Active a movement journal rooted in mindful motion, real gear, cultural pride, and showing up without apology.
She believes in slow mornings, walking when it hurts, and building strength that feels like freedom.

Her motto: You don’t have to look like an athlete to move like one.

She writes from Los Angeles, with a speaker clipped on and sunscreen always in the bag. This journal is for anyone reclaiming energy, stretch by stretch.

Coach Vida es la voz detrás de FormaFit Active, un diario de movimiento con raíces en el cuerpo, la cultura y la intención.
Cree en moverse con calma, en estirarse cuando duele, y en la fuerza como libertad.

Su lema: No tienes que parecer atleta para moverte como uno.

Escribe desde Los Ángeles, con su bocina a un lado y bloqueador en la mochila.
Este espacio es para quienes se están reclamando, paso a paso.

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