The Voyage Ends But The Journey Continues

There was a couple on our voyage this summer that was just phenomenal. Everyone loved them. I went to Karyn’s photography seminars many times. They were just a great, lively couple, and were leaving the ship in Morocco to travel on their own some more. They gave every student on the ship a little Greek “evil eye” to keep us safe while we travel. It was so sweet! They also left a big book on the ship for us to sign and write a message about how this voyage has impacted us, and tape in a picture or two of us. I accompanied mine with a picture with Ana, the little girl I met in the tiny Bulgarian village of Donchevo. Here's what I wrote- I thought I'd share it on my blog.


I loved my comfort zone. I lived in it. It was safe. It was familiar. The unexpected rarely happened when I was in control. It was my little bubble. Safe, sound, secure.

And then I JUMPED out of my comfort zone. I’m not talking about peeking out of it, or slowly warming myself up to the idea of the unfamiliar- I threw myself into it all at once. I signed up to live on a ship for the summer with 1000 people I didn’t know while traveling halfway around the world. It was quite the crazy decision, if you ask me! Tijuana housebuilds, a Niagara falls visit, and 2 family cruises to the Bahamas was as far from the U.S. as I’d ever been. And now I was going to Europe, virtually alone, on a ship…all summer long.

And let me tell you, without a shadow of a doubt—it was the best, craziest, most insane decision I ever made. I have learned more than I ever could have imagined—about myself, about my peers, about my world. I had heard that “Semester at Sea will change you” and “expect to come back a new person.” Yeah, yeah, I’d be more cultured, and hopefully have a couple better characteristics. Maybe I’d even view the world in a different way.

But this voyage completely changed me. I’m still Julia. I still have an abnormal chocolate addiction, I still use hand sanitizer ten times more than I should, and I am always cold, no matter what. I’m still the same person. But I’m a changed person.

Now, I love being out of my comfort zone. I think it is the best way to learn and experience what there is to experience. How can you learn if you don’t ever do what you’ve never done, thought what you’ve never thought, and live like you’ve never lived? Growing as a person is all about trying new things, seeing what there is out there, and letting your experiences shape you. Get exposure. See the world. Visit a population 950 village in the rural countryside of Bulgaria, and make a (little ) best friend simply through smiles, dancing, and patty-cake games. Hike a volcano; see the lands below that it once destroyed, and the enormous crater; feel the volcanic gases coming out of it, then get the heck off of it! Go to the Grand Bazaar, and let Turkish men call you Charlie’s Angels and the Spice Girls as you learn how to bargain, drink apple tea with them, and slowly start to understand their culture. Experience complete culture shock at a Turkish bath. Strip down. Throw yourself into the culture. Experience it. Live it. It’s the only way to understand.

I’m not saying I didn’t feel uncomfortable—most of my experiences started that way. But just giving it a chance always taught me something. I learned to open my eyes and see the world through those I met in the many different places I went. Old age often brings wrinkles, and I see each little wrinkle as a token of wisdom. I love talking to older adults and hearing how they view the world and why; it was incredible talking to the wise and wrinkled halfway across the world- Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey, Croatia, Greece, and so on—and hearing about THEIR worlds and what they experienced in their lifetime. Seeing the world through their eyes in incredible.

My impressions of this journey and voyage can’t be condensed to words. I can’t even portray them in pictures—though I do try. Those who have experienced this journey with me—my ship family—understand what I mean. It has been such an incredible and unique summer living this dream with 1000 other people who I know can understand my experience—and that’s our special bond, all 1000 of us. And even though this voyage is too quickly coming to an end, I am taking from it more than I know. The lessons I learned, the way I learned to see the world—there are no words. It’s something that is going to stick with me for life. I have learned that life really is about living and loving, and laughing and dreaming- and making those dreams come true. Semester at Sea has been a dream come true for me, and I am thankful beyond words for this incredible experience.