Day 107. I love this Ship; and a very public thank-you

I love this ship, and my community with all of my heart.

Tonight, me and 4 students were in charge of the final Logistical Pre-port on Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The entire hour was dedicated to making fun of each of the faculty and staff: Luke "the voice" Jones, Les McCabe, Reg Garrett and Gary Dukes.

I played the part of Dean Reg, and his crazy cooky-ness that is infused in each of his lectures. I 'poked fun' at his long lecture slides, his silly inflection, his grading style and his overall demeanor.

It was such a hit. Everybody kept coming up to me afterwards telling me how spot-on my Reg impression was and how funny it was. It was incredibly flattering. I also have to thank Dean Reg for being such a good sport about the whole thing. He was laughing his butt of with everybody else and was a great sport about being made fun of in front of 700 people.

I am going to miss this so much. We are all so happy right now. Nobody wants to think about what's about to happen.

We spent the whole day in Re-Entry and reflection exercises talking about the multitude of things that can happen upon return to home. I'd like to think I got a better idea of what's ahead from people who have done it before. To my loved ones and friends: have patience with me. I promise to be as tactful as possible and to not clam up... but there's a lot I've experienced and a lot of things I need to sort out once I'm in familiar circumstances again. I know life has gone on in the past 108 days and that my experiences do not define the whole world's... but they'll still be fresh to me come Wednesday. I thank you in advance for your support and understanding as I express them to you.



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Now, a very public thank-you:

Neither my mom nor my dad were born into insanely wealthy families. They were born into average american families with a culture, though, that their kids would be the most important to them. Let's level with eachother... I'm insanely lucky to have traversed this voyage. Lucky doesn't even scratch the surface. I'm so fortunate that words again fail me.

This voyage, as you can imagine, would not have ever been even a dream without the support of my parents. Monetary support, moral support, support to go explore, support to be different, support to throw caution to the wind and just 'go'... I got it all, and It led me to an incredible few months, and a connection to a program that will not end when I disembark in a day. It led to experiences that will define who I am, and moments that will change the way I think, act, and live. Had my parents not made the decision a long time ago to invest in their two children, I never would have had this opportunity. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

My parents know this. I make sure and tell them this all the time, but I feel as though they deserve to, at the very least, be recognized publicly.

Now. To the others. To every other parent out there who funded their kid. To every one of my relatives who supported me with anything from a dollar to a glimmer in their eye that said "I support this." To every friend who convinced me I wasn't crazy. To every advisor that sat across from me and told me that I HAD to do this... thank you. From the bottom of my heart: Thank you.

You have changed my life forever- and for that, I will never be able to thank you enough.

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Tomorrow, Convocation. We will all be recognized for our completion of the voyage academically, and the graduating seniors will be able to walk across the stage symbolically. It is the official close of the voyage. Final speeches will be delivered, and the room will be full of tears of happiness and sadness. I am terrified. I remember the first evening when we got on the ship and Les said... "We're going around the world!"

We did it. We *went* around the world. Together.




You should hear from me at least one more time before we disembark on Wednesday morning.

Love from the Carribbean!

Greg