So it's been one whole year since I embarked on my journey around the world. So where am I now? Since disembarking the MV Explorer for the last time, I've had a lot to adapt to. Life when it's not on a ship is just not the same. I don't have the beautiful view of the ocean anytime I poke my head out the door. I don't have the amazing crew saying "hi" anytime I pass by. I don't have a handy dandy green sheet telling me all that I need to know to get through the next week and port. The list can go on of all of the things that I don't have now that I no longer live aboard the MV Explorer, but the list of the things that I do have greatly outweigh it.
Upon returning home, Amy and I were forced to deal with the reality that our dear friend Ashley Valente would not be there to greet us off the plane from San Diego, as we had planned, and she would not be there for any other occasion again. It was a harsh reality, and honestly, I’m still coping every day. The days following our return were filled with grief and mourning as we attend the wake and funeral of one of the most amazing and beautiful friends I had ever known. It is times like these when you realize what is important in life. It is the people around you, your friends and family, that gets you through everyday, and they are the ones that matter.
Returning to “regular” life was hard enough without having to cope with the loss of Ashley, but it was something that I needed to do. I was no longer on the MV Explorer and I was back in Wilmington, Massachusetts, my home. I returned to work at the good ole’ 99 Restaurant where my amazing co-workers greeted me back with open arms, even my new general manager, whom I had never met until I was back in the states asking for hours J Getting back to this routine was not the easiest thing. I was used to getting up and exploring a new country every week, and now I was getting up and going to work or starting the new semester at Salem State. It was a hard adjustment, to say the least.
School started up again, much to my chagrin. I was jumping back into classes headfirst and before I knew it schoolwork was taking over my life. Not to mention that while going to school full time, I was also working thirty to forty hours at work. Needless to say I did not have a lot of time for friends and fun. But it is times like this when you realize who your friends really are. Yes, I was going to school and working a ton, but my friends and I would make sure to make time to hang out whenever possible. We were all still reeling from Ashley’s death, and we all needed to rally around each other and help each other through it, even though all of our schedules were extremely hectic. Just knowing that my friends would always be there, no matter how often we saw each other or not. I always know that I can call them up and they will be there in a second.
It still seems like a dream that in one year’s time I sailed around the world and learned so much about the world and my place in it. Semester at Sea taught me so much about who I am as a person, and the impact that I can have if I set my mind to it. From all that I’ve seen in the various countries, I know that in some way my goal in life is make a difference, as small or as big as it may be, whatever it may be. I no longer take things for granted because you never know when it wont be there anymore. There have been days since I’ve been home that have seemed like they are the worst days, whether it’s because I’m stressed out with schoolwork, had an argument with a loved one, missing loved ones, or just missing the ship and my life a year ago, but then I remember the villages in India or the poverty in Ghana and I realize that there are people who would kill to have what I have. My worst day could be their best day and just knowing that makes me have a different outlook on the situation.
I don’t know what life holds for me or what the next page in my life’s story holds, but the one thing I do know is that I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. I have amazing people by my side in my family and friends. Semester at Sea changed my life and I am forever grateful. I have my whole life before me and I’m just taking it one step at a time, one day at a time. In the words of Desmond Tutu, “continue to be idealistic. Dream, dream, dream the craziest dreams.” And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
