The time carries memories within

Ship: Johnny
Datum: 11.04.2025
Position: Vor dem englischen Kanal
Geographical Position: 49°40,9′ N, 010°10,7′ W
Etmal: 168 sm
Total: 13.283 sm

Everybody Changes

I think it was my sister who once said to me that she’s curious about who I’ll be when I come back.

It all started with cutting our hair. Some only trimmed a little, while others went all out. Take Daniela, for example – not long ago, I gave her a buzzcut with a monk’s ring, a square pattern, and even a handball field design.

Of course, these are just small changes, not necessarily important for our futures. But there are changes we’ve gone through that we’ll carry with us forever.

The first big change is in our character. We’ve grown stronger. And I don’t mean physically – I mean mentally. We’ve learned to push beyond our limits. Even when we thought we couldn’t go any further, we kept going.

Take me, for example. I’ve really struggled with seasickness. As of yesterday, I hit a puke count of 42. Seasickness is brutal – you literally feel like a piece of shit. During the first week, I kept thinking, “What the hell am I doing to myself?”

But I’ve come to realize that a huge part of it is mental. Maybe you can’t fight seasickness physically, but mentally, you can do a lot. You just have to push through and believe in yourself.

We’ve also learned that time is relative. Most of the time, I don’t even know what day it is – not the date, not the time. This half-year hasn’t felt like six months at all.

When you’re with the right people, a four-hour watch can pass in what feels like minutes and the most beautiful moments can stretch into eternity.

I’d also say our worldview has changed a lot. You really need to see things with your own eyes to understand just how much luxury we live in back in Germany. On the San Blas Islands, people live in huts made of corrugated metal. In Cuba, buildings are falling apart next to luxury hotels that no one can afford.

That’s just a glimpse of what we’ve seen. And when you really think about it, it’s heartbreaking how unfair the world is.

Lastly, I want to say something about school. Ocean College has shown us that school isn’t everything – grades aren’t everything. There are so many other things that matter more. The obsession with perfect A-levels creates so much pressure for teenagers. And A-levels don’t even reflect who someone truly is.

Every person is intelligent in their own way. We all have our strengths and weaknesses in different areas – and that’s exactly what makes us human.

Change is necessary to grow up. Some changes are harder than others, but in the end, everyone has to find their own place in this big galaxy.

Today, not much happened. We had a beautiful sunset and watch. We’re all hoping to stop in France soon – maybe in Brest, maybe somewhere else.

Grüße:

Toni: Hallo, endlich melde ich mich mal wieder über die Grüße. Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich zum Geburtstag, lieber Emil! Tut mir leid, dass ich es vergessen habe, aber auf dem Schiff vergeht die Zeit so anders und momentan haben wir viel zu tun. Ich hoffe, Dir und allen anderen geht es gut und wir sehen uns in zwei Wochen! Liebe Grüße, Toni

Flurina: Liebi Mila, ich wünsch‘ Dir alles Gueti zum Geburi. Ich freu‘ mi, bald wieder mit Dir Training ha 💕🎂

Nele: Mama, Papa, ich darf bei der Schiffsübernahme Steuerfrau und Medic sein. In Frankreich sind wir jetzt auch – in Saint-Malo – und es ist so wunderschön. Wir müssen da mal zusammen hin. Papa, wir wollten fragen, ob Du uns drei Flaschen Sekt Maracuja mitbringen kannst 🤓 Mama, mit den Luftballons machen wir das doch nicht, also brauchst Du sie nicht besorgen, aber trotzdem danke 💕💕Hab‘ euch lieb und freu mich, euch bald zu sehen ❤️