We all get faced with choices that will change the way you look or live your life. My mom encouraged me to go on a trip to the Channel Islands off the coast of California. You had the opportunity to live on a boat for a week, learn how to work a boat, and keep the ship safe. I was hesitant to go because I thought I wasn’t going to have fun. On the bright side, some of my friends were going. It turns out this was the trip of a life time. I didn’t realize how much fun I was going to have and I made friends that I will keep forever.

When you get back from an amazing trip you can’t stop talking about it like, “O that one time”… “Or remember when this happened”. We all arrived to the ship after a long flight to California; we all boarded the ship and went to our bunks when Hannah fell right down the stairs. It looked hilarious when it happened but she said it hurt really badly.
There was one day when the crew allowed us to climb up the mast. While we were up there, I could finally feel what a bird would feel like looking out into the endless sky. It was so beautiful. At this moment I will always cherish the way the blue green sea looked like during a beautiful sunset. During this process we were going to take the sails up, tie them to the mast. I was with my friends Hannah and Shannon. After everyone had climbed their way down I waited for them to make their way down too. They were just standing there on the mast and not moving. They weren’t coming down! When I saw three girls at the top of the mast with one of the instructors, I knew something didn’t go right. Later that night they told me what happened. Hannah tied herself in the mast and was unable to get loose unless she would have had to untie and retie the sail. The funny part was that at that moment Shannon had to go to the bathroom along with Hannah. They had to take the time and redo everything they just had worked on. I will never forget how freaked out they were when they told me this story.
On the fifth day we were all on the ship and the adventure was coming to an end. We all had night watch. Night watch is where you have different shifts during the night to make sure the ship is okay and you learn to steer the ship in the middle of the night. Do you ever wonder if in movies the boat really rocks back and forth? Well it does but way worse. It was Lillie’s and my turn to have night watch duty with our group. That night the waves were rocking our boat ferociously. I was thinking when I boarded the ship that nothing bad could happen. The waves were so bad that the water came in on certain rocks. The water would pour in on the low side then splash up to the other side. At one point in the night they wouldn’t allow any of the students to walk up or down that side of the deck because it was too dangerous. Since it was my watch, you didn’t know when a big wave was coming. You had no time to prepare for a wave coming or if you were going to get wet. Lillie and I were dead tired from watching the water for incoming boats. This prevents the boat from hitting incoming or passing boats. This could be a difficult task if you don’t know what you are looking for. You look for white, red, and green lights that are hung on any boat. Thank goodness we didn’t crash, but every time we would walk up and down the boat, you would stumble or hurt yourself. It might have been the most frightening night of my life, but at the same time it was the best. Some of my best friends went on this trip of my life. It might have been for school, but I didn’t care. With all the magnificent views and people, I wouldn’t have taken any other trip. I got to see pictures of bioluminescence (algae that lights up at night), rocky water, lighthouses, sea lions, and fish I didn’t even know existed. I got to see it all in one week. It might have stunk from the boys’ body odor and stinking clothes. Toward the end of the trip we all stunk we didn’t really smell anything because our noses got used to the stench. At the same time it was fun and exciting. Tall Ships was a life changing experience. Oh, just a tip – always take sea sick medication, just in case. You never know, trust my best friend Shannon…. She would know.