The best is yet to come...

I remember posting my first entry on this blog as if it was yesterday. It really wasn’t that long ago but so much has happened since then. I have been to nine countries, four continents, and three oceans. I danced in the streets of Brazil during the biggest party in the world, Carnaval. I climbed the Great Wall of China and have been touched by so many kind and welcoming people in every country. So much has been given to me from this experience. I have learned about each country’s history and have seen what is occurring now. By being immersed into other cultures I have learned more about my own as well as who I am as a person and my purpose in life.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” Eleanor Roosevelt

From the first time that I read this quote, I was inspired and motivated to truly understand what it means. I wanted to be able to read these words and say, yes, the purpose of life is to live it…to the fullest, every moment of every day.

In order to do this, I knew that something in me would have to change. I wanted to be different. I wanted to have a new perspective on life and the world. How this would happen, I had no idea. One of the reoccurring themes on this voyage is to see things with new lenses, not just seeing things how I want to perceive them. The goal is to not just see the people and the landscapes but to acquire new eyes in which to see them as they truly are.

I am no longer a tourist. I have transformed into a traveler. As a traveler I long to experience new things, meet new people, and learn from their cultures. Following this transformation my passion for life burns with more intensity than ever before.

I can’t sleep. I have been tossing and turning all night, my mind is even more restless. I just got done with finals today and am now considered a senior in college. That in itself is enough to cause disbelief. However, tomorrow is packing day. In one day we are supposed to pack up our lives here on the Explorer and go forward. Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited to see my family and friends. I especially can’t wait to meet Peanut, my new niece or nephew. Yet I am torn…I must say good-bye to all the people who have made this voyage so special. I cannot believe how quickly our friendships formed. I feel like some of us grew up together, that is how close we have become. We will all go our separate ways but I believe that by sharing this experience we will remain connected for a very long time. I will also miss the crew who added so much to each one of our lives. And I will miss seeing the beautiful and inspirational Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Here is a man who not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. I know because I was fortunate enough to live with him while sailing the world. I will miss his laughter echoing the halls or him dancing whenever and wherever he could. This community which has formed is extraordinary, each individual is an essential fabric woven into the life of the ship. I have never felt such unity and love in such a large group of people. We are blessed to have one another.

To be able to reflect and write down all the things that I have learned during the past 100 days would be difficult to do at this moment in time. There is a lot that I feel I will learn after this voyage concludes…when I have had the opportunity to process everything. This voyage focused on pathways to peace and one thing that I have learned is that conflict can and has been overcome by peace, not violence. “An eye for an eye” makes the whole world blind…that is why we listen to and follow great leaders like Gandhi and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In place of cruelty they suggest care; instead of hatred they preach love. The love they refer to is not defined in the conventional way, but in the sense that you have only overwhelming good will for another. One of the great professors made a very interesting point. Hatred is a prison which detains us. Those who hate are the ones who end up suffering. I also learned that a lot of times in life it is really how one looks at the situation. One of our inter-port lecturers told a story about two people in the same situation. One was lucky, the other unlucky. One day these men go to the bank to deposit money. They both wait in the line for twenty minutes before reaching the teller. Just as they are about to make their transactions a robber comes in and starts shooting. Both men get shot in the arm. The unlucky man thinks, “Just my luck!” The lucky man thinks, “I am so lucky. I could have been shot in the head!” See? One situation, two different ways to look at it.

While I am not yet able to understand all that I have come face to face with, I do know that I want to make a difference as cliché as it sounds. Every single person on this voyage has been empowered to contribute something in someway. I do not know where I will begin or what I will do. I have yet to overcome these feelings of being overwhelmed by it all…but I do believe that I, along with my shipmates, can and will change the world. Some will go on to make huge changes in the world community; others will help in their own communities. Either way each one of us will be kinder, more aware and active in improving the lives of others. No can say that he or she has not been changed by this voyage. Even I do not know for sure the impact that it has had on my life. What I do know is that even though I consider this voyage as the time of my life, I know that the best is yet to come. My days of learning and exploring the world will not cease when I reach San Diego. I like to look at it as a beginning of another adventure. I will now get to experience my home, my school, and my country with new eyes. But I know I won’t be there too long…there is too much to see. There is too much to be done. So I have to ask myself…where to next?