Day 185

Something I woke up thinking about today is ship.

Well actually it's something I've spent a lot of time thinking about over the last 4 weeks.

From day 1 I was always told you have to be pretty resilient to survive working onboard. Your friends and family will think you're on holiday, every other department will think their job is more hard work than yours, and it's all a little bit like a bubble of life that's easy to forget the real world is going on around your tiny tin can of a home.

After a lot of time thinking about the realities of working onboard, I came to come conclusion: Everyone who works at sea is worth their weight in gold for dealing with such an insane working/living environment. The kind of place where the things that get done right or well aren't celebrated - or are very, very rarely celebrated - and the things done anything below perfection are picked on and picked out and after a month you start to feel the pressure of being told regularly what your doing is wrong. You have to be so tough skinned, or be able to pick yourself up again within hours, with boundless positivity and energy - you are there to serve and give each holiday-goer the best time of their life, whether you're exhausted or not doesn't matter.

But i've not just been focussing on the bad things, I just know I talk about the good things a lot more often. The people you meet, the places you go, the money you can save... It's the ideal situation really. Once you've worked your way up the ranks a little and get paid a little more and get more responsibility so you don't feel so much like someones performing monkey anyway.

At the end of the day that's what it is, a performance, for 13 hours a day, every day, for 6 months or more. You work with so many intellectual, creative and emotional people with a flare for dramatics, and you wonder why they've been drawn to a life at sea but if you really consider how outgoing and flexible you have to be, it's not that surprising at all.

As much as there are disagreements you are one big family, slogging through day to day, everyone talking about 'how long until you go' as if it's a prison sentence, which is something often joked about onboard. But really the hardest parts are the jet-lagged, confusing first few weeks, the change of team that inevitably happens half way through and throws off team dynamics like a tsunami wave, and the final couple of weeks where you can not wait for it to all be over and be free and not set another damn alarm.

I received my next contract on Friday, and despite all of the bad that comes with working at sea, I am considering going back because of all of the good that comes with it. I am a changed person since being onboard. From an anxious little thing with no self-confidence and no ambition for any sort of career, to this outgoing, bubbly, confident, inspired, motivated human being who can't wait to see where life is heading and whats up next...

Ship makes you strong... well actually, ship shows you how strong you were in the first place, it tests your limits and how far you can push yourself, it shows you your true colours, and for that I am thankful.

*disclaimer - this is my personal experience and what I have observed from a few different cruising companies and does not intend to reflect negatively on the company I work for.

#ship #work #sea #shiplife #ocean #travel #explore #truth #true #reality #positive