Semester at Sea has changed my life.

This is going to be my last blog entry, wrapping up this entire trip. Pretty much the only reason why I created this blog was so that my family could follow my adventures and keep in touch with what I was up to... I know a few of you have already told me how much you are going to miss my blog entries!!! I'm so glad that I was able to entertain and be your travel guide over these last 4 months :) I want to try and keep this short and sweet, because although there is a lot to say, there isn't at the same time... I've come to the point where I'm trying to process everything that I've experienced and it's going to take some time before it fully hits me that I just traveled around the world... 26,000 miles and all. It still baffles me that I've been able to have this incredible experience. I can't believe I went to places like Asia... Africa... and South America. Thank God for the memories, the pictures, the videos and even the souvenirs that I've collected during the voyage, because sadly there will come a point where things will begin to slowly fade away... I just really hope in the future I'll be able to re-visit some of these countries and spend some more time there, forever learning. The world has so much to offer and not a lot of people have the courage to step outside their comfort zones into the unknown and the unfamiliar... into a completely different culture than our own, to put yourself in someone else's shoes and experience, even for a short time, how they live. Just like the quote by St. Augustine, that I pulled out of my journal: “The world is a great book... they who never stir from home read only a page.” Also by Jan Myrdal: “Traveling is not just seeing the new: it is also leaving behind. Not just opening doors: also closing them behind you, never to return. But the place you have left forever is always there for you to see whenever you shut your eyes.” I've learned that following your dreams is possible; you just gotta go out and do it and not be afraid of taking a risk or two along the way!!! It's all worth it in the end, and I am now forever transformed because of it. Semester at Sea has most definitely, without a doubt, changed my life. Forever. Thanks everyone, love you all<3