I really didn’t know how to start this speech. But then again that is not such an unfamiliar feeling. Not long ago we all arrived on a ship, unsure, uncomfortable and without a clue about where to begin. As I look around, I know that this feeling is one that can be overcome. Each of us is living poof of that truth.
On the Class Afloat program, as in real life, we each face challenges that we must overcome. It is this adversity that allows us to grow. We grew into a sailor, a constant volunteer, a galley member, a watch member, a traveler, a crew and a family. In the beginning, our challenges included the experience of being thrust into an extremely small space with 63 strangers, food that was worse on the way back up and a mountain of rules. Those challenges, those hardships, only made the good things that much better and the successes so much bigger. We have grown through each experience that we have been through and we have transformed into different people than those who we started out as. We have grown into adults, into a crew, into graduates and into individuals who know how to achieve our potential. Now it is time for us to leave our crew and venture off into the unknown. Some of us will return and others will find new adventures, new people to grow with; but one thing is certain, we will forever remain in each other’s lives and we will continue to learn from our relationships. We are as persistent as the grease in ship cups … and we will stay together till the end.
When people come to Class Afloat, some come in search of travel, some come looking for adventure, and others come for the sea. What few expect to receive at the end of this experience is the discovery of one’s self and the power of community. We discovered this in every moment we lived together this year. When we visited century old mosques, got lost in the Grand Bazaar, hiked the hills of Corsica, tasted the dates of Tunisia, planted a garden in an orphanage in Senegal, suffered Neptune’s rage at the Equator Crossing, and had a Christmas under the equatorial sun – we were discovering together. We were discovering not only new cultures, but also discovering members of our new family and ourselves. And despite the value of Math, Biology, Chemistry and English, what we learn about ourselves through these experiences so completely outweighs the lessons learned within the four walls of a classroom (sorry teachers). I have learned more about myself than I ever thought possible and I am eternally grateful for that fact. I came to Class Afloat 2 years ago, ready to explore different cultures and countries, ready to experience the thrill of adventure, but no matter how ready I was, nothing prepared me for the education I was about to receive.
Looking back at myself 2 years ago, I realize I really did not know what I was signing up for. I didn’t know that I would take away more from this experience than I originally anticipated. It was more, way more, than an adventurous school program. It was a journey. It was all the little moments we spent together, laughing at the bow, begging for dessert, climbing aloft and watching the sunset, waking up at 4 in the morning to go stand on the Bridge, canoeing at Mersey River, napping in Res, watching movies in the hallways and laughing until we cried. These moments are what made the journey both indescribable and unforgettable. Though travel played a part, it is the people that make Class Afloat what it is.
Of course, not everything this year was perfect. On February 17th, 9 days into our first sail of second semester, our will as a crew was tested as Davie Jones claimed Concordia and left us afloat in rafts. Our lives were suddenly trusted in the hands of our crewmembers both new and old. We had only one another to look to and to count on. We did not disappoint. After two days in the rafts the ordeal was over, but our journey was not. And strangely, in the moments where we might have been expected to fall apart our crew only became stronger. We succeeded in pulling every single person to safety. We came through this obstacle stronger than we were before. This ordeal could be seen from many different perspectives. I believe that it is a huge testament to our crew that 41 of us decided that after 9 days together we would not leave each other behind and we decided to come back to our home port of Lunenburg to continue this journey. Those who could not join us never really left us; you have been with us in spirit, you are part of who we are and each and every one of us have all grown from this experience. I know we are grateful to be here, to be safe, and to have made it through this ordeal with the memories of signing songs in our life rafts and feasting on packaged short bread cookies.
So we continued our odyssey and we came to this small town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Though this was an unexpected chapter in our year, we remained positive about our experience. This was a new adventure to be seized. As I said before, it is the struggles in life that let us grow into the people we yearn to become. The decision to come to Lunenburg I am sure was a struggle for most, but in the end we all came together. We said goodbye to some of our crewmembers – Ms. Mac, Mr. Tripp, Miss FQ and Franz among others – but we also greeted new members of our crew with open arms. We had new teachers, a new school and a new home.
And then our crew did something amazing; we developed into an even more functional unit than we were before. That is the power of Class Afloat, I suppose. No matter what, we continue to move forward. We began volunteering for the community, whether it was at Kim’s Land, the Caledonia, the Picton Castle, the Hospital, the Retirement Center, or the Windbag Company. We went on adventures even though they were no longer at sea; to Windhorse Farms and to Mersey River. We roasted marshmallows by the campfire and played guitar, we went on night walks and we read stories next to the glorious white fire place at Windhorse. It was these retreats that would put us back on the right path when we felt lost. They helped us find our place in the community again so that we could continue to move forward. Lunenburg was a place that brought the crew together in unexpected ways. We biked to Mahone Bay and ate ice cream next to the sea. We hiked trails at Gaff Point. We polar dipped and we took part in our own version of the Amazing Race.
And now, we hit a fork in our path. Some of us will return to our homes in Germany, Mexico, the United States, Panama, Holland, Hong Kong or Canada. We will leave one another, but I can say without a shred of doubt in my mind that we will all end up in amazing places if we continue to follow the course that we have set for ourselves. Our journeys are like the lines of Concordia – they may seem endless, but they all have an extremely important purpose. I look forward to meeting each other in a couple of years and to hearing Dave’s bush firefighting stories, flying a plane with Erica as the pilot or going on a cruise ship to meet up with Max B.
Though our crew has gone on this journey together, we were not alone. So many people helped us make it to where we are now.
Thank you to our parents who trusted us and loved us enough to let us get to know ourselves in the middle of the ocean far-far away. I am not a parent but I can imagine it is not easy to let your child sail away to the distant corners of the globe. Yet there are122 parents here that said their good byes and sent us on this adventure. Thank you, too, for letting us go a second time after we had just been reunited. I am sure that was not easy.
Thank you to our teachers who helped us set a bearing for our lives, who were able to take the complaining of 48 teenagers and put a positive swing on it.
Thank you to the professional crew, the Captains, first mates, second mates, the engineers, the MO, the bosuns and cooks, without whom we would not have had a running ship, we would not have learned anything about sailing and on February 17 and we would not have had 64 of us in life boats.
Thank you to Terry Davies who followed his vision and imagination to fruition and created this program.
Thank you to all the people who helped in our rescue efforts when we were lost at sea; the Hokuetsu Delight, the Crystal Pioneer and the JRCC here in Canada.
And finally, most importantly, thanks to you for being awesome friends. All of you in this room are some of the most inspiring people I have ever met. I have had some of the best times of my life by your sides. I am unbelievably lucky, blessed to have had a year with every one of you. I love you all so much and I will miss everyone forever! (until we meet again =). I’m proud to be the 2010 Class Valedictorian.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, guys. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails and explore.”
Good times, Peace