The Starry Night Beneath the Caribbean Sea

If you're looking for a vacation that allows you to see beautiful cities and cultures other than your own, If you're looking to take a year off so you can cross off the countries on your bucket list, if you're looking for a break from the real world - Winterline is not for you.

Because you will see beautiful cities and cultures, but you will not be on vacation. And you will see places you've never been and always dreamed of, but you'll realize it's so much more than a "check off your bucket list". And though it may feel like a break from YOUR world, you'll see the real world is actually right in front of you. And you will move through it with your mentors (FA's) and cohorts, thinking "What the heck did I get myself into?"

It will be the most challenging and exhausting year of your life, but in the most beautiful way. It will make you question yourself, the world, and how you fit into it. This question is important, because there is not a lot out there, in the familiarity and comfort of home, that encourages you to think this way. A way that challenges you to not just acknowledge other perspectives, but see through them. A way that challenges you to look deeply at yourself, and who you are.

I learned a lot of tangible skills, but I learned a lot more than that. I learned that I don't need a lot of stuff to be happy. I learned just how much I value relationships in my life and how to be a better communicator. I learned that I am an empathetic person, and I would not want to be any other way. I learned that thinking is hard, but if we stop thinking we stop changing, and that's the scariest thing of all.

In Bocas Del Toro, after we all passed our Scuba Diving Test, we went for a night dive. I'll never forget this. We dropped off the boat with our flashlights in hand. It was pitch-black. I've always been scared of the dark. Oliver and I turned on our flashlights, put on our masks, and sunk to the bottom. We swam for a little while, trying to get away from the rest of the group. A green lobster crawled it's way across the rocky ocean floor. We weaved through the sea together, occasionally looking over to make sure we were both alright. He shut his light off. I shut off mine. Oliver started waving his fingers and hands in an upward-down motion. The Caribbean lit up with bioluminescence, one of the most astounding things I had ever seen in my life. Something my GoPro couldn't capture, something I'll just have to remember for myself.

We continued to swim until we found a wide open space on the ocean floor. No rocks, just sand. Oliver motioned for me to sit down and somehow we both knew what we wanted to do. We shut off our lights once more, sat cross-legged in the sand, and closed our eyes. For a few minutes, we sat in silent mindfulness. And I knew in that moment that my life would never really be the same.