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The adventure began when six of us jumped in the back of an old beater truck. We drove through villages and jungle foliage, past temples and rice paddies, weaving between motorbikes, janky construction sites, and women carrying oversized baskets on top of their heads.

We arrived at a bamboo shack in the middle of a farm where our tour guide slapped some stinky, damp, mildewed, life vests and helmets on us and sent us on a 100 stair trek down the mountain to the river bank.

The stairs were all shapes and sizes and built of all materials possible. Power lines were draped over sticks and trees trailing all the way to the bottom where they used the electricity to blow up our rafts and charge their cellphones.

Andre, our guide gave us some loose instructions on what his commands in broken English meant for our own safety during our three hour escapade. I should've paid more attention.

Sardined between a family of Persian speaking Iranians we set off on our journey down the rapids. Growing up in Southern Oregon and rafting the Rogue countless times throughout my life gave me a false sense of confidence in the raft. I was quickly humbled. "BOOM BOOM" yelled Andre as we rambled down the first stretch of white water. I mentally crapped my pants as I almost flew out of the raft! I was jolted out of my comfort zone. Instantly my fight or flight instincts and adrenaline kicked in.

There I was, stuck in a thousand pound raft full of first timers and a hundred pound Balinese steersman in a 3rd world country. One of those 'What am I doing here? God help me. Sorry mom.' moments. I was right to throw my mental guards up but I still wasn't prepared for what was next.

We crashed into rocks, were attacked by fire ants, saw a huge snake swimming by, faced the most treacherous rapids I've ever rafted, bounced off the banks, swerved around rusty rebar and fencing poking out of the river, and held on for dear life.

Being so familiar with rivers and rafting made this experience even scarier. I've heard all the headlines of people drowning, rafts tipping over or deflating, and rescue searches being held. I've been in rafts where collisions are followed by concussions, passengers are flung into the water, and blood is shed. The river is not like the ocean, it is constant, it gives no breaks between sets. It is a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention all my experience was in America where there are rules and regulations and safety precautions, where the water was clean and clear, not muddy, contaminated, and full of who knows what. 

I don't think the others in the boat realized how dangerous it actually was or how many things could've easily gone very wrong. Ignorance was bliss in their case. Having my strong and wise husband beside me put my mind at ease. He knew something was wrong without me even saying a word, and I didn't due to my belief that the spoken word is powerful. Manifesting unfortunate events by speaking of negative thoughts was the last thing I wanted to do. Besides, if all else failed I imagined we'd Tarzan and Jane that shit and figure out a way to make it out alive. 

Despite all of my worst-case-scenario-worry I was able to soak it all in with a smile on my face (nearly) the whole time.

We floated past majestic waterfalls, 3rd world villages, jimmy rigged water irrigation systems, plush million dollar resorts, bamboo huts, and waterfront villas straight out of the travel channel. The views were ones that can only be seen from the river itself. The architecture and scenery were absolutely breathtaking.

Halfway through the trip Andre pulled over at a sketchy looking "rest stop" on the river. We were greeted by two happy Indonesian women, a refrigerator filled with cold drinks sitting on the river bank, a basket of chips, and coconuts laying in the mud. The women sat under a tarp structure and yelled "Come now and rest, one more hour raft and two hundred stairs more. You must eat and drink. Eat now, pay later no problem!"

We were refreshed by the coconuts after they machete chopped them open for us. The Iranians took selfies as we brushed up on our Balinese speaking skills and munched on indo chips that tasted like the dry saimin I would eat as an after school snack in the 3rd grade.

We hopped back in the raft and continued on. We creeped through a canyon where the walls were covered with intricate designs carved artfully into the rock. The sight of it all was jaw dropping.

All the while our Iranian boat mates sang songs of their country in Persian. They a were loud, enthusiastic, loving, and a crazy musketeer-like group of three. They left me with a lovely curiosity of their culture. 

At the end of the float we hiked up the 200 some stairs we were promised. Near the top there were locals trying to sell us trinkets and clothing and clutter for 60,000 rupia a pop. (just over 4 bucks.) If I had money on me I would've bought something just for their efforts. I'm such a sucker for supporting the locals, even in my hometown. We popped out of the jungle onto a chaotically busy road with cars and scooters whizzing by, just a short block from our start point. 

We made it back to our sweet driver Ketut, who waits patiently smoking cigarettes and chatting up the other locals while we slay our tourist activities. Seeing something/someone familiar gave me a sense of safety again. His huge smile was contagious and reminded me to smile myself. In that moment I realized, Holy shit guys we survived.

For the record, I don't think I gave Andre enough credit, that man was smart, swift, and knew what he was doing. Maneuvering a boat ten times your weight through all of those obstacles with little help from your guests is no easy task. We kindly thanked him with a tip for getting us down the river safely. 

Rafting in a 3rd world country was about the same kind of fun as skydiving for me. An incredible and mind blowing activity that we were lucky enough to enjoy un scathed, but probably won't push it and do it twice too close together. Nevertheless, once again life serves the risk taker. Another adventure down. Thank you Bali, for the unforgettable experience of white water rafting down the Ayung river.

I turned 28 on May 5th. 🎈 
My one birthday wish was to release my debut single for the world to hear. 🎵
AND IT CAME TRUE! 🎉
"Butterflies" is available on iTunes! Click the photo to navigate there now.
Wherever you are, pretty please download it, post it, bump it, jam it, and share it with your friends & family!
Music is truly the gift that keeps on giving, and being able to share mine with you is the greatest birthday gift of all. 🎁 📀 🎧 🤘🏽 

-VP

Huge mahalo to West Hawaii Today for running my story in their Friday issue. To my surprise I made the front page of the entertainment section, then I flipped to the center for a two page spread! I'm so humbled by their kind words and by everyone who has helped make my career possible here on the Big Island. Special thanks to Karen Rose for the awesome interview.

"Born on the Big Island and raised in southern Oregon, singer-songwriter Victoria Prince has it all: talent, brains and beauty. 

After earning a degree in audio engineering at the Art Institute of Seattle, Prince moved back to Hawaii where she now calls Kona home. A full-time performing musician, she is currently working on her first studio album. Yet while her life appears something out of a storybook, Prince’s life wasn’t always fairy tales and princess parties."

Follow the link for the full story! 

http://westhawaiitoday.com/arts-and-entertainment/talent-resiliency-and-perseverance-victoria-prince-following-her-dreams

Every single choice you've made in your life has led you to where you are now. Right now, reading this sentence. 

Often people ask me how I ended up in Hawaii, how I became a swimwear model or a full time musician, how I met the man I am soon to marry, how I find the motivation to compete in body building competitions etc.

The truth is it has been one gigantic crazy beautiful mess. Literally. It has been a combination of unfortunate events, luck, terrible decisions, addiction, depression, optimism, trial, error, small accomplishments, huge failures, and a heaping pile of hard work. The kind of hard work that makes you want to crawl into a hole and hibernate for months at a time while contemplating never showing your face to the world again. It. Has. Been. Exhausting. But so worth it. I think people are asking these questions not only out of curiosity but also because they want to pursue something in their own lives but don't know where to start?

In that case, it doesn't really matter where you start as long as you start something. All you have to do is make a choice to start taking small steps in the right direction. Its incredible where your own two feet can take you if you just point them in the direction of your wildest dreams. Then one step at a time, before you know it, you're there. You made it. And then you think "but what is making it?" And you keep going, with a whole new set of wildest dreams and the journey continues. 

For the record, I am not the greatest singer, I'm not the best guitarist. I'm not the prettiest model or the strongest athlete. I'm just me. I smash it all together, I do my best, I don't give up, and here I am. I face my fears and present this semi-organized mess to the world and hope for the best. That's all there is to it. All we can do is our best, when we do, we cannot lose. 

Furthermore, Comparing one journey to another is like comparing sushi vs. donuts in a culinary standoff. While sushi is delicious, and everybody likes donuts. Would I ever eat the two together? Probably not, but they are equally enjoyable in their own way. They simply cannot be compared. My point is, don't worry about what other people are doing, they are in an entirely different category with a completely different set of circumstances, strengths, weaknesses, and priorities. Ive had many people perceive me to be "selfish" because sometimes following your dreams looks that way. Until wahlah - your "evil plan" to brave the world and create your own happiness looks like a masterpiece and then suddenly they wanna know how you did it. What we must understand is that there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. If you love what you're doing its going to look like perfection from the outside but only you will see know hard it was to get there. Only you will know the struggle. And thats ok.

Your journey is beautiful and crooked and just as it should be. If you get lost just ask yourself what you can do today to continue your journey toward whatever it is you want out of this incredible life we are gifted. 

-VP