A Lasting Imprint

**Note: Post Date is August 15, 2009**

I saw another one. A shooting star that is.

Tonight was a magical night full of A.B.A. fun times. First we celebrated Shannon’s birthday with the ever popular ice cream cake that they offer on the boat. It was chocolate, not my favorite, but I couldn’t resist. After indulging in that dessert, A.B.A moved on to the next, with our Milk and Cookies party. A select 10 of us gathered around the huge platter of cookies gorging our faces with the wonderful chocolate chip creations. We were stuffed. Funny pictures were a must for we were doing fun things with the cookies that you wouldn’t do otherwise, including spelling out SAS 2009. We even engaged in a fun game with our cups after we had gulped down our milk. I can’t wait to teach it to friends and family back home. It was yet another great time and hard to believe that in a week it will all be over.

As we wobbled out of our private room and onto the outside deck we waited for the sun to set. For at dusk the captain was turning off all outside lights on the boat so that we could all enjoy a night of star gazing on the Atlantic Ocean. At about 9pm it all went dark as we looked to the sky for yet another planetarium look at the vast and unknown area of Space. It was even better than the one in the Sahara. One reason being that we were all together. We began our nightly activities by playing basketball in the dark. Being virtually blind and playing a contact sport is quite interesting and equally dangerous so that didn’t last too long. Before long we all settled down on a secluded side-deck to lay down and admired the beautiful twinkling night sky, that I am not privileged with living in New York City.

“There’s something in my eye,” I say as more drops begin to fall from the sky. As a cloud moved across our location it had begun to rain. And boy did we laugh. It was such a rare occurrence that you would actually watch a rain cloud pass you by and as it passes have it rain on you. I began to cry. I cried out of a both overwhelming amount of happiness and uncontrollable sadness. As we lay on a ship, in the middle of the Atlantic, looking up at the sky, in the rain, while rolling in laughter, I realize its rarity. I realize how these times don’t happen on a normal basis and that what we have here is truly precious and a lasting imprint on my life. This night, no matter how much homework and papers we must endure, no matter the amount stress and anxiety that enters our rooms, it made it all vanish. 

One night, during the five day cross to Morocco, I sat on the port side deck: all alone, no one else in sight, the large Semester at Sea high above me and the African coast on the nightly horizon. I had just finished having a good and intense run and had come outside for some fresh air. It was complete darkness as usual. The cloud filled the sky and the breeze strongly grazed my face. Then a break in the clouds reveals the moon, full and vibrant. I look up at this glowing mass, shining on the black water, and smile. This picture of mystic and beauty was an intriguing and beautiful one. It may seem unattainable to me at this given moment, but regardless someone has visited the craters of the moon, and explored the depths of the deep blue sea. And just as these places such as Africa and Italy seemed to be out of grasp something came along and that something for me was Semester at Sea. After the unexplainable experience of this massive trip, I realize that the world isn’t that unreachable. I speak in relative terms of course, but as I watch the nearby waves crash, the distant water shimmer and the ship’s flags wave rapidly in the wind I knew I would remember this moment forever. It may have seemed like this entire time I’ve been appreciative of this experience but it wasn’t until this point, as well as tonight, that I knew this trip was truly worth it.

I wish I may, I wish I might. Goodnight.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Michael-Anthony

P.S. I wonder if there’s life out there.