Anna Brodmerkel, Class of 2018, Greece
I have seen the miracle of life, the cruelness of death, and the struggles the Loggerhead faces. During my time in Kefalonia, I saved a turtle flipped over on its carapace (shell), another we thought to be dead actually stuck halfway in the nest, and a third crawling in the prickly shrubbery of the dunes. I have also discovered a hatchling burned by the sun next to its nest, unable to make its way to the sea. Through various excavations (performed 7-10 days after no activity) we, the volunteers, have dug up nests with 27 dead hatchlings centimeters away from the surface. On the other hand, I have seen much more successful nests with only a few hatchlings who were unable to dig their way out. Each nest we excavate differs, but one thing is certain: there will be life, and there will be death; not everyone can survive. The point I’m trying make is that if you are a lucky survivor, you must cherish that light, that life, that opportunity that others cannot obtain because of circumstance and situation. It’s time to stop asking yourself what you will do, and start asking what you have done. I’ve learned who I can be if I start living in the moment, if I start asking myself what I have done, and that has given my life more meaning than anything else.