Ready and Waiting...

Today was a pretty busy day during my TAPS class. We wrote new resumes and cover letters to send to companies we would like to interview with...but I'm sure you don't want to hear about that. That kind of stuff is boring...

So, I'm going to write about the stuff that I was daydreaming about today. All throughout the day (when I wasn't creating resumes and such), I daydreamed about travel. I thought about the places that I have already been, and the places that I would like to see again. The catalyst for this was very simple. My parents are going on a cruise next week. My brother and his girlfriend are going soon after, as are my sister and brother-in-law, and my aunt and uncle. As I am sure you can understand, I'm jealous.

My mom said something to me though that made me think. She told me to think about all of the times that I got to go to sea, and I left all of THEM behind wondering what interesting things I would see and neat adventures I would go on. They were jealous. Now it is their turn to go see new and exotic things, and have experiences that some will only ever read about.

She was right, I got to see all kinds of things all the way from Alaska to Japan to Panama. I would call my family and my friends from places that they had never even HEARD of. I have souvenirs from places that people only dream about. I have stories that awe people when I tell them, and sometimes I'm even asked to RE-TELL them.

I got to learn how to do things that very few people get to do. I can start a diesel engine that is two stories tall and operate it. I could also affect repairs on it if necessary while I was using it. I can drive a ship almost 400 feet long, in the middle of high-stress operations, and do it well. I have been woken up at 2 am to help fight a fire on a ship. I have seen what 30 foot seas look like. I have seen what 12 tons of cocaine that will be destroyed instead of sold on the streets looks like. I have also seen the relief and thanks on the face of a man who would have died if we hadn't been there to help him.

I have seen the stars at night, with no light pollution to make them fade. I have seen the moon shine so brightly that you would swear it was almost as bright as the sun. I think those things might be what I will miss the most.

I think that the reason I'm so jealous right now is because I know that I will never put to sea again on a Coast Guard ship to go do that mission, and I will never see these things again in that context. In fact, I consider myself in limbo right now as I wait for this chapter of my life to close, and the next one to begin. My dad calls it "Emily's Big Adventure: Part 2" (Part 1 being my joining the Coast Guard).

I'm ready...I'm waiting...let the adventure begin.