Location: Underway to Fiji
As a recap, today we did a lot of what we did yesterday and a lot of the yesterdays before that. We had two science classes, two meals, squeeze, and all that good stuff. We all had watch when it was dark out; we all did some watch when it was light out. We all were cold and warm at some point. We all worked, we all rested, we all laughed, we all cleaned.
27 days ago, I was here, writing this blog, just as I was 27 days before that and 27 days before that. In my first post, I described the room I now stand in. The first time I stood there, I was in awe of Antigua’s cliffy coast, the feeling of being surrounded by nothing except for water, and the magical workings of what would go on to become my home for the next 80+ days. I soaked in the warm weather, went swimming for as long as anyone would let me, and spent most of my free waking hours either dancing or playing Bananagrams. It was amazing, it was paradise, but I was also a little bit terrified. Just how we all were a little bit terrified; just how you all might have been just a little bit terrified.
You know, not terrified of anything bad happening (like you might be when the boat tracker stops working), just terrified of what this was. 90 (now 98) days living on a boat, sailing 6000 (now more like 8500) miles with 26 strangers. Tonight, as I stand in front of this monitor for the final time, instead of a blue sky to peer at through the window, there is a dark sky with sporadic flashes of lightning. Instead of an anchor keeping us inside of an imaginary circle on a map, there is an engine pushing us along an imaginary line, a slightly changing path, one sending us both south and west, that aside from the crew being distracted from on the helm, we’ve tried our best not to tread too far from in almost a whole month.
In my last blog post, as I look back to day 5 and all the days after that, I really just want to say that I am proud.
I’m proud of myself for choosing to go on this adventure, and I’m proud of myself for making it here. I’m proud of my new friends, crewmates, classmates, instructors, or whatever I could call them: Una, Riley, Gillian, Natalie, Mac, Trevor, Louis, Izzy, Sam, Renee, Frankie, Felipe, Elie, Marina, Lewis, Nick, Bella, Niko, Giselle, Thea, Elle, Steph, Tim, Gabe, Amanda, and Lolo. They are resilient, courageous, cheerful, and kind. Although we have not yet reached our final destination, whatever road we took to get here, through changed itineraries, restrictions, broken rules, negative emotions, positive emotions, sharks, squalls, essays, exams, sunburns, hot water burns, lost service, missed girlfriends (maybe that one is just me), broken speakers (maybe that one is just Una) and other things, it has all been specialand it has all been an adventure because it has in fact not been easy. Through whatever good times or bad times there have been, we have all persevered. In however dark or hopeless this modern world may sometimes seem, we have tried our very best to light a spark. I hope you have felt it from afar, and I hope you all are at least a little bit proud of us too.
Much love,
Ezra
p.s. I’m proud of my sister for crushing it despite this not being the year of her dreams. I’m proud of my mom for kicking ass and not letting anything get in the way of the life she wants. I’m proud of my dad for not selling his soul for approval or belonging. I’m proud of my girlfriend Millie for seeing the good in people always, even when their darkest sideshows. And I’m proud of my friends out there in Colorado for being resilient in the face of heartbreak, change, and loss. And I’m proud of all you other people too.
Current position: 1315.51’S x 17137.59’W
Pictured: Sunset and friends enjoying it