“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

- Ferris Bueller 

 

I’ve been thinking about this a lot quote for the past four weeks. Waking up in the morning, realizing that yet another day has passed by in the blink of an eye. 

We are somehow already almost halfway through, causing the group to already begin talking about how sad it will be at the end. How we will all probably cry and hug each other like they do in the movies. It baffles me to believe that I could cry over leaving people I will only have known for 10 weeks. 

In the beginning, knowing people for 10 weeks caused confusion, me refusing to believe that someone could become friends with someone within such a short period of time, but I can attest to the fact that it is possible. We’re only 4 weeks in and we’re all already friends. 

The secret ingredient is conversation. In today's society, everyone is always sitting around on their phones, or huddled around a television watching a movie, and there have been moments like that within the last month. However, there have also been moments of talking for what felt like 10 minutes, but somehow turned into two hours. 

The best parts are the simple parts. Sitting around the dinner table like a big family, devouring the meal that took two hours to cook, almost burned the house down, or had gone horribly wrong, just laughing about it. Sitting around a small campfire, telling scary stories that will most likely keep half the group up at night. Screaming over an intense game of Egyptian Rats or Monopoly Deal. Walking through the airport after a hectic travel day with everyone and everything finally accounted for. The moments that seem to just go over your head when in day-to-day life, but when you sit and observe them, they always seem to come out as the most memorable. 

Six weeks from now, we’re all going to get on a plane and fly back to the places we came from, with only Snapchat and Facetime to keep us contacted. Nothing but fond memories keeping the program alive. Which is scary to think considering it feels like we’ve only been on program for a week, but it makes each moment so much richer. The harder it is to say goodbye means the more meaningful the experience was.

- Written by Gracie Visceglia

Midpoint Reflections


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Author Orla O'Muiri Posted

Category Polynesian Journey Departure Fall 2022