Dear Future TSGB Cal Poly Cadet,

When I first signed up for Cal Poly at Sea I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had only briefly been told about it by a friend who had signed up, and next thing I know I'm at the orientation meeting learning the rules of the ship. There is not much a letter can tell you about this experience, besides that it is absolutely amazing, so instead of bragging about the good time I had I will try to give you pointers and words of encouragement for this trip.

First, whatever you don't expect to happen will happen. No matter what it is or how outlandish it may seem when you first get onto the ship, after two months with the same 300 people...it's happened. You will wake up in beds that aren't your own; you will eat one hundred cookies at lunch and then two hundred more at dinner and you will decide it is more important to ace tanning than your more rigorous classes. And whatever you do everyone will know. There's no point in trying to keep things secret, but similar to what they say in Vegas...whatever happens on the TSGB stays on the TSGB.

These are some of the quirky aspects of the trip that make it more unique than your average Cal Poly quarter; hopefully they don't scare you off because they only make the trip more entertaining. But, of course, there is more to the trip than these shenanigans - on this trip you will make extremely close friends extremely fast. The entire ship is like a family. It comes to the point where everyone may feel so comfortable with each other you may wish for the awkward days at Vallejo when no one knew every detail of your life. You will meet people with completely different backgrounds and you will bond and find what I hope are going to be lifelong friends.

Being at sea for two months is absolutely amazing. Every day you wake up to a breathtaking ocean view. You see more stars than you will ever see in the cities, you wake up and see the sunrise, you see the sunset after dinner. Every little aspect of the trip you appreciate.

Ports are obviously amazing. You are with your best friends traveling to new places. It's not like a family vacation where you follow your parent's itinerary, you make the decisions of what you do and when you do it...as long as you are back before curfew. But living in seclusion on the ship with your friends really makes the trip more special. You basically don't know what is happening in the real world, just in the little fantasy world made up of quarters, meals, and friends. The biggest issue is wearing the wrong shorts to class; the outside world is of little consequence to your daily activities. Playing games like you did in elementary school becomes a common nightly activity, and you love every bit of it.

I definitely encourage everyone to go on this trip. You learn a lot about yourself and others. You get to travel to exciting places and will have stories that you will be talking about for the rest of your life. You will always remember the plagues, the "BBF's," the mess hall raids, staying up talking in your room, and of course the friends you made and the places you traveled.