Swim with the Dolphins

Designed by Bree Morris

I went on a cruise almost two years ago. I invited two friends and then one of the friends invited a fourth person to come so that we could have a full cabin.

One of the friends and I wanted to do everything we possibly could on the cruise and were constantly on an "adventure." The other two wanted to lay around, which was fine, everyone is different. Well it came time to go on some shore excursions and my adventurous friend and I wanted to do different things than the other two. BUT the other two really wanted us to all do at least one excursion together, which is fair, and so we had to figure out what that would be. The problem was that the other two only wanted to pay for one excursion, again which is fair, and they REALLY wanted to do the dolphin excursion. Well, my adventurous friend and I really didn't have an interest in the dolphins but we decided to go with it.

When it came time to pay there were two packages: 1) Stand in the pool and let the dolphin come up to you and you could pet, hug and kiss it. OR for $10 more you could do all of that plus swim with the dolphins and hold on to its fin as it pulled you around and much more. To my shock the two girls did not want to pay they extra $10. TEN DOLLARS. We went with package number one. I guess I can at least say that I kissed a dolphin on my 25th birthday.

Ever since then I have taken on this personal motto of just, "Swim with the Dolphins," as a reminder that it is worth it to pay a little extra more or put in a little extra effort in order to have a much more amazing experieince. I mean, come on, we only live once. While I was in Peru last year, every time my friend and I would be trying to decide if it was worth it to spend a little more or walk a little farther I would just say, "Let's Swim with the Dolphins." It never failed us.

I teach a class to a student leadership group at an university and I taught them one day about going the extra mile in their lives whether it be in school, careers, personal life, etc. I told them about this experience and my motto and I even asked my sister-in-law to design me a logo so that I could give my students stickers that said, "Swim with the Dolphins." I taught them that in life they should strive to put in a little extra effort, a little more time or even a little more money to get a much better outcome or experience and that it is worth it. I now often hear them telling each other to "Swim with the Dolphins" as motivation (and sometimes peer pressure... oops).

So, go swim with the dolphins in whatever you are doing. AND Swim with the Dolphins when you travel. I'm all about being smart with money but don't cheat yourself from an incredible experience because it saves you a few dollars. That's the great thing about travel; getting out of your comfort zone, seeing things you will never get to see with your own eyes again, experience adventure, etc.

Swim with the Dolphins

From a Fellow Traveler

I have a relative who, when she was 25, quit her job and planned a six month trip around the world. I recently ask her of all the places she has traveled, which was her favorite. I really liked her response and thought she had some great advice and wanted to share it with you.

"Hmmm... my favorite place? So many people have asked that and I have to say I don't have one particular place. Each place is SUPER unique and offers up such a variety of things. I LOVED India because of how different it is. Same holds true for Vietnam. I think while you're young you should try out the exotic places. As we get older, we tend to want more from our travels and are less patient with the third world country annoyances. So save Europe and higher end travels for later in life. If that makes sense? But, every place I've been to I've LOVED for what it was."

Truth

"Travel is the only thing you can buy that will make you richer."

I stumbled over this quote/statement and I completely agree. Even though travel costs money it also gives us experiences and memories. You can see things that can inspire you and/or teach you. You get to open your eyes to something new and experience the wonder of exploring it. Or traveling can give you that time to take you out of your everyday life and if you take the chance, you can analyze your life and perhaps rejuvenate or decide on changes.