When I went on the Fathom cruise, I expected to be involved in something different; something that would change the way I viewed the world. I have been blessed to have been able to travel quite a bit in my life, and I love traveling. Growing up with family in Europe and modeling afforded me that.
Twenty years ago, I went to the Dominican Republic. I was working as a model in Miami Beach and got a job to be involved in a commercial that would be filmed there. It was all very glamorous, being flown there with a bunch of young models, and then driven to a luxury resort where we would stay for about five days to shoot the video. I was twenty-five and very shallow.
Fast forward twenty years later and I am now forty-five years old with a husband and two small children. I no longer live the carefree lifestyle I once had in Miami Beach. It's not about a simple bike ride to the beach, or a coffee date on Lincoln Rd. Now it's about changing diapers, grocery shopping, play dates, parks, and working.
So when I had an opportunity to be a guest on the Fathom Impact Cruise, a cruise that aims at changing the way people travel and sets the tone for opening up more discussions on volunteerism, I jumped on it. Not just because of the concept of traveling with a purpose but honestly just to get some time by myself, away from the hustle and bustle called life. A life that is a gift, but so often taken for granted. This cruise proved to be so much more. It changed my life forever. It changed it in five ways.
- 1. I enjoyed being "trapped" on a boat for two days while we sailed to the Dominican Republic.
- 2. I was able to experience a different culture an enjoy the diversity.
- 3. Because it was an "Impact Cruise," we were forced to get to know each other on the ship and through the impact activities and not keep to ourselves.
- 4. The impact activities touched me to the core of my being.
When I was walking back to the boat from doing the Cement Floors Activity, I was overcome with emotion. Another gentleman that had been on the impact activity with me said that he wasn't emotional but felt emotion that he couldn't "fathom." What irony. We passed buckets of cement to each other for hours and didn't speak, however, we were so affected by what we participated in that we couldn't be silent to each other. We were bonded from that experience.
One thing that stuck with me is the gratitude people shared with us; for a concrete floor for a house that is big as my bedroom that would house a single father and two kids. Those kids just wanted to play on the floor. And the neighbors will get to come over for dinners because there is a local house now with a cement floor. Wow.
- 5. I made a difference in someone's life.
I was a guest on the Fathom cruise. All opinions are my own.
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©2016 Lucee Santini, as first published on MomJunky.com.