A year and a few months later, and I’m still not over the time I had on Semester at Sea. Since leaving the MV, I’ve traveled to 5 new countries and 5 new states and visited almost every single one of my close friends from the trip – last on the list is Australia. Might happen next December just saying 🙂
As I move forward in my life, I keep learning from my experience and I try to share my travel obsession with everyone I can. As one of my friends says “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”
As I write this, I’m of course on an airplane, but more importantly, I’m coming back from NOLA for my second Mardi Gras. In typical SAS fashion, we packed up to 15 people in a king hotel room and we couldn’t have been happier, well maybe the couple who slept in a corner on the floor could have enjoyed a bed more…
SAS takes on Bourbon St at Mardi Gras 2016
One of the things I’ve learned since disembarking is that the people you traveled to 15 countries with, the ones you stayed up on top deck watching sunrise in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the ones you saw grow into new, more worldly humans are friends for life. They just get it.
I honestly think I might have come back a little too SAS obsessed, sorry to everyone who had to listen to me talking about SAS and my SAS friends too much. Now I’ve learned to balance and appreciate all the people I love. My high school friends, my friends from SAS, friends in other countries, friends at other schools, friends right here at my own university. At times, I used to get bummed out that there are too many amazing people in my life that will never all live where I live. Even writing that sounds ungrateful. I’m the luckiest girl in the world. And while bringing my friends who live elsewhere to me via a 5 inch iPhone screen via facetime might not be ideal, I’d rather have them in my life than not at all.
My phone home screen is a little quote that got me through some of the tougher days. The ones where I’d sit on my bed reading the map my friends all signed and remind myself it was real. These people are still a force in my life. It actually happened. The quote is here:
So anyway, I’m not sure what compelled me to write this- maybe I feel like I just had another port and I needed to reflect. I think I’ve realized I’m ready to figure out a way to use all the great fortune I’ve had and do something with it for others. I can’t help but think I’ve been blessed with my experiences to teach me so many lessons and to prepare me to give back somehow. If anyone has ideas please hit a girl up. I’m also thinking of doing a few posts about applying to SAS and budget management because people have reached out about that (by the way it literally makes my whole day when I get those emails).
I’m going to add an update of a bit of my recent travels too – because why not? Now that I put it in writing, I have to do it. Anyway stay hungry for the word and keep on being your beautiful selves.
xo
paige gets around [the world] 