Semester At Sea
Donation protected
My Adventure (this is the link to the Semester at Sea page featuring my voyage)
I want new experiences not re-makes of my life. I want to see more of the world. I am of the west, an American that has traveled to Europe, but there is so much more out there. With modern travel and communication the world has shrunk. No place is more than a few days away, but there are still significant divisions between people. There is more to the rest of the world than dictators, military coups, violent revolutions, and religious extremists, but that is all we see from our American cocoon.
I want to see people of other countries, glimpse their lives and experiences. Sure, I could learn about other cultures through reading and getting second-hand interpretations of places I haven’t been. However, those texts would be much more meaningful if they could be layered on top of my own personal experience. I want to know more than my corner of the United States: to understand the world without unwittingly using an American lens.
Every community has its own quirks, little things that collectively build the composite culture. In my life, through changing schools and attending college across the nation from my home, I have observed that each place is a mosaic of all the communities within it. I believe the world is the same way: a mosaic of cultures, peoples, and viewpoints. I want to witness this mosaic firsthand.
I believe in the power of adventure. Only through experience will I gain understanding of the world mosaic to build a foundation from which I can do something relevant with my life. This journey will help me find my purpose: in the world and as an individual. Experiencing a few more tiles of the world’s mosaic will contribute to my personal growth and will be relevant to whichever path I chose to take.
I want new experiences not re-makes of my life. I want to see more of the world. I am of the west, an American that has traveled to Europe, but there is so much more out there. With modern travel and communication the world has shrunk. No place is more than a few days away, but there are still significant divisions between people. There is more to the rest of the world than dictators, military coups, violent revolutions, and religious extremists, but that is all we see from our American cocoon.
I want to see people of other countries, glimpse their lives and experiences. Sure, I could learn about other cultures through reading and getting second-hand interpretations of places I haven’t been. However, those texts would be much more meaningful if they could be layered on top of my own personal experience. I want to know more than my corner of the United States: to understand the world without unwittingly using an American lens.
Every community has its own quirks, little things that collectively build the composite culture. In my life, through changing schools and attending college across the nation from my home, I have observed that each place is a mosaic of all the communities within it. I believe the world is the same way: a mosaic of cultures, peoples, and viewpoints. I want to witness this mosaic firsthand.
I believe in the power of adventure. Only through experience will I gain understanding of the world mosaic to build a foundation from which I can do something relevant with my life. This journey will help me find my purpose: in the world and as an individual. Experiencing a few more tiles of the world’s mosaic will contribute to my personal growth and will be relevant to whichever path I chose to take.
Organizer
Lana Lief
Organizer
Fair Oaks, CA