This past spring semester, I studied abroad through a program called Semester at Sea, informally known as SAS. You might have heard about it on your TikTok For You Page or through a friend of a friend. Living on a ship? Taking classes? How does that even work?
In short, it’s a four-month program where students take college classes aboard the MV World Odyssey and visit 10+ international ports along the way. Unlike the majority of people, who are attempting to imagine what sort of ship houses hundreds of college kids and how this program is even formatted, I grew up routinely hearing stories from my father of traveling on the SS Universe, circumnavigating the globe while taking college courses. Semester at Sea did not seem like some foreign concept. It was shelved in my mind, ready for active recall. It happened so quickly: all of my cousins and my eldest sister, who I once played Kick the Can with in the front yard as children, left for Semester at Sea. At 11 years old, I watched my cousin Kylie return from her four month voyage aboard the MV World Odyssey. What a cool name, I remember thinking at the time. I took low-quality photos of the ship, not fully understanding what Kylie had just experienced.
Over the next two years, I returned to the MV World Odyssey’s side two more times. The most exciting was, of course, the day my oldest sister Piper returned from her own Semester at Sea voyage. Over those four months, I awaited her sporadic Instagram posts and texts telling my middle sister and I how much she missed us. I had the time zones of each port country she visited on my phone and often bragged to my 7th grade peers about where Piper was exploring at that moment. Piper’s voyage had the most profound impact on me as I was able to recognize the true changes and perspective shift she experienced. I watched her tears of joy and sadness as she disembarked, in shock that she was able to hug her little sisters, but simultaneously grieving the end to an adventure. Semester at Sea was far from her biggest adventure, but instead was the start of many future endeavors backpacking in Patagonia or living in Southern India. I saw the spark that SAS initiated and I began craving a bite from my family’s beloved travel bug.
“Semester at Sea is going to be the best experience of your life!” “It’s the adventure of a lifetime!” Variations of these quotes have been circulated around me for as long as I can remember. After hearing these quotes enough times, and seeing the whirlwind emotions my relatives had after disembarking the MV World Odyssey, I began to believe them. As it got closer to my time to leave, the 10th Pugh, I felt overwhelmed knowing that I was about to experience the best time of my life. Was I ready for this? Was I ready for it to be over? Was I ready to have the experience of a lifetime behind me?
I have much to thank Piper for, in life and in terms of SAS, but I’m eternally grateful for a conversation she initiated the day before I embarked on my voyage. We were in Bangkok, Thailand, sitting in the backseat of our Grab when she said, “Parker, SAS was not the best time in my life.” Her one statement contradicted every quote and story my eight other SAS alum family members had said. She elaborated, explaining that while the experience was transformative, to say the least, it was only the beginning of a lifetime of stories and memories. In the almost ten years since her own voyage, Piper and her backpack have ventured through Australia, India, and Patagonia, just to name a few. Her journeys, both physical and personal, did not stop when she stepped off of the MV World Odyssey’s gangway for the last time.
Some might view Piper’s words in a more pessimistic tone than I’ve come to understand. To me, Piper’s words were encouraging. I sit here 5 months and 6 days after my disembarkation day and I know I had an amazing experience, full of perspective changes, true friendship, childlike wonder, self growth, and more. I learned so much about myself and the world. Piper’s words encourage me as they remind me that there is so much more adventure out there. Life wouldn’t end after SAS. Adventure won’t stop. Unexplored places won’t vanish. This voyage is the beginning of something, not an end. I’m starting my life as a world traveler. I’m gaining life experience to use in my many future endeavors.