23 days.
To leave our legacy as the Fall 2007 Voyage of Semester at Sea. This voyage of discovery is coming to a close faster then ever imagined. We will return to our homes, families and friends who will have no idea what we have just experienced. And how we have changed.
What you will remember are the nights that you shared with your friends, the crazy adventures that happened when you went into Japan with no plans, other then a rail pass. Those are the moments that have made our voyage so far.

Now its November, the chill is in the air, the smell of Turkey both the country and bird is wandering through our heads, we are starting to finalize our thoughts about our experiences. We have a chance to change this voyage from an average voyage to a legendary trip...

one for the record books.

I know I signed up for this trip to meet people and have that sense of community or family. I think a lot of us wanted that experience. To leave the negativity that has been flowing through out the ship.

We already are a great community, seeing how we take care of each other, like if you have a bad night, you would not be left to fend yourself, or if you are walking alone in Ho Chi Min City, we would try to get into a group. It's like the army, leave no man (woman) behind. Even in the days in San Diego, walking around trying to meet the people we are traveling the world with. Seeing students help students they have never met before. The sense of community really does exist, however we just need to show it to the faculty, staff and deans, the officers and crew.
And most importantly...to ourselves.
I know I have met the most amazing people, people I can count on for anything, from just talking about the meaning of life - to girls - or about the weather. This truly is a voyage of discovery.
In light of the recent events on the ship I think Ayn Rand stated it better then I can

"Do not let your fire go out,
spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite,
the not-yet, and the not-at-all.
Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved
and have never been able to reach.
The world you desire can be won...
It exists...
it is real...
it is possible
...it's yours."

For the last 23 days, live it to the fullest, talk to people you wouldn't normally talk to, travel without plans, and cherish every person and moment, this crazy amazing adventure will have concluded and we will have our memories, our new friendships and enough "this one time on semester at sea".... stories to even bore ourselves. for when we disembark we will spread out to all corners of the country, and the world
But don't let the discovery of yourself and the world end on December 7th.

Mohamed Barakat -- Bidgewater State College
Hanson, MA