So Long!

     At one point or another I believe we all fantasize about running away from home. It doesn’t matter what your home life is like, it’s just something naturally programmed within us to reach for something more; to believe that there is more. I remember thinking about it distinctly on three separate occasions of my life.

     The first occasion was when I was about ten years old and feeling claustrophobic in my own skin, under my roof. I decided, with all the vindication a ten year old could muster, to take a few things and run away- to never look back. I’m pretty sure I made it about as far as the mailbox before I realized that it was a pretty poor decision on my part.

    I tried running away again when I was a junior in high school, preparing to embark on the next phase of my life to go to college. It was the first chance I had to choose where I was going to go for four straight years of my life. I could pick anywhere- the world was my oyster. Dreams of California and Colorado filled my mind as I dreamed of picking up my things and simply setting off without planning a return trip anytime soon. It was almost as if I had some kind of overwhelming desire to detach myself from whatever held me home in New Jersey. In the end, I chose to go about 2 hours north to New York State.

   And again, I attempted to flee the comfort of the familiar when I applied for an externship with Celebrity Cruise Lines to go abroad for nearly 5 months. I was presented with the opportunity to see parts of the world no one in my family had ever seen before. I had been given the opportunity to set foot on land that no one bearing my surname had ever reached. This time, however, I made it well passed my mailbox at the end of my driveway. Ten hours later I found myself in a hotel in Barcelona and a few short hours after that I was setting sail for Egypt. I was finally going.

    Over the past five months I have encountered just about every kind of individual from every corner and every country on the planet I could name- not to mention I met some people from countries I had never heard of (ten dollars to any of my friends from home who can tell me where Mauritius or Macedonia are without looking at a map). I learned of selfless sacrifice; parents who work on the ship to pay for the families livelihood and forfeiting their abilities to see them for nine months at a time. I learned of hard work and dedication; working for 14 hours a day, 7 days a week for 8-9 months at a time all with a smile. I learned of business; its all about the bottom line. And of course, I learned of friendship and the kindness of the human spirit; had it not been for the friends I made on board the ship during this experience, I would have gone mad long ago.

    Perhaps what I learned about most during my 5 months aboard the Solstice, however, was the last thing I expected to learn about at all. I learned about myself. I learned that I was capable ( while not exceedingly happy) to work a 90 hour work week consistently. I learned that there is enough time in every day to do what you love if you love it enough to find the time. I learned that I’m braver than I thought, stronger than I thought and maybe even a little smarter than I could have imagined.

    I look back now to those times when I so desperately wanted to run away throughout the years and realize that I wasn’t actually running away from home. I was running away from myself. And now that I’ve caught up, looked myself in the eye and seen what I can do, I’m ready to say that it’s time to go home.

    I’ll see you all soon, I cannot wait.