Sea's Get Degrees

 Here she is! Not super detailed but it'll do. Feel free to fix spelling or grammar....I didn't really read through it again. I’m alive! Just barely. Hawaii: Hawaii was actually just a fueling port for the ship, but if we signed up for a field program, then we got to go explore for a bit. I signed up for the submarine and beach program. At about noon we took a bus to some other water and got on a different boat. The new boat took us to a submarine. I guess I never really thought about how you would board a submarine. It emerged out of the water and pulled up next to the boat. We went down the steps and then got in the sub from the top. We then went 150 feet down into the ocean full of all kinds of fish, coral, ships, planes, seaweed farming, and 3 sea turtles. The sea turtles definitely made my day. We were submerged for about 45 minutes before coming back to the top. The rest of the afternoon was spent getting smoothie bowls and sitting out on the beach relaxing. It was ...

It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. It’s  A mazing,  B eautiful,  C aptivating,  D isciplined,  E ducational,  F riendly,  G orgeous,  H uge,  I nsightful,  J aw-dropping,  K abine(German for cabin),  L onely,  M esmerizing,  N autical Travel,  O paque, P ositive,  Q uestionable,  R ocking,  S waying,  T errifying,  U nbelievable,  V omit-bags,  W eird,  X hilarating,  Y OLO,  Z enful. If you actually read through all of those words (and don’t worry, it’s okay if you didn’t :P) You’ll see that even though this life I’m living is one of the best experiences of my entire life, I didn’t use the word “perfect” or “easy”. Traveling isn’t supposed to be perfect and easy. It doesn’t matter if you’ve traveled to every continent or only a couple states, it’s always going to have it’s ups and downs, as well as it’s dangers and unpredictable situations. It takes ...

As I sit here in my hotel, I'm overrun by so many different feelings. A feeling of joy as I just had a wonderful mini vacation with 2 aunts, an uncle, 2 cousins, and my dad. A feeling of bittersweet sadness as I said goodbye to the six of them just a couple days after saying goodbye to everyone else at home. A feeling of pure excitement as I think about what lies ahead in the next 5 months of my life. A feeling of anxiousness as I will be on a ship floating around the world with 600 other students that I have yet to actually meet. A feeling of thankfulness as I think about everyone who has helped me get to where I am right now. I feel like I'm writing an Oscar-winning acceptance speech, and I don't mean to be cheesy but I think this trip tops winning an Oscar for me. :) Tomorrow is finally the day! After endless hours of paperwork, shots, exams, emails, and so much more...the hard work is about to pay off! I'll let you guys know when the reality of the trip has finally ...