Most people go along with what life has to throw at them without ever grabbing the wheel and steering. You're probably not one of those people, or else you wouldn't be reading this letter. There is nothing wrong with going with the flow; plenty of people make it work, but they miss out on so much. There is a finite limit to the experiences that come your way and a finite time to take advantage of them. This is not one to pass up.

To tell the truth, it's not all beer and skittles. You may find yourself sifting through garbage, washing dishes, and wondering when you will be able to eat some sort of normal food again, but if you play the game right you'll love every minute of it.

Everyone has his or her own reasons for coming on this cruise. They may have heard that it's good for the GPA (yea, kinda), that they'll meet the love of their life (maybe next time), or that it will be a totally new and different experience (for sure). There are some guarantees for this cruise. You will see things and go places that you would probably never see or do any other time in your life. You will watch more sunsets than you ever have before. You will see the night sky like you never have before. You will see the ocean as so much more than you ever have before. You will make new friends. You will find a lot of time to put your life into perspective, or just find a lot of time.

I made memories that will be etched into my brain forever, and I will probably tell stories about them until people are sick of hearing about it (buy me a beer sometime, I'll talk your ear off).

The bottom line is that you either know that this is for you, or you don't. If you saw the poster or heard about it and got excited, it's for you. Tell everyone you know to do it with you. The more the merrier.

I'll leave you with a little warning. This very well may get you hooked. I took off for a year abroad in 2000 and I plan on studying marine biology in Washington during fall quarter. In 20 quarters of college education (I'm a grad student, not stupid!) I will have spent 6 of those on some sort of program that was allegedly advancing my education, but was definitely making me the person I want to be.