The trip I took with Texas A&M to Antarctica this winter break was one of varied experiences. There were many others on the boat besides us students — tourists from around the world, families, and world travellers. It was enlightening beyond even the travelling experience to meet these people with different mindsets and viewpoints from around the globe, and appreciate the fact that though we all come from different places, the shared passion for exploration bound us all together.
To see Antarctica was a dream come true for I’m sure everyone on the boat, and I was not exempt from that. Beyond conversations of sustainability and rationalizing protecting our wilderness, the pressing need for conservation comes at just one glance at the Antarctic landscape. With the air thin and clear we can see further than anywhere else in the world, the sight of the rocky, icy expanse is enough to take anyone’s breath away. The wonderment only grows with the wildlife, as we had the amazing opportunity to see so much of what Antarctica offers — penguins, whales, orcas, and so much more. The pressures human involvement has on these species is not lost on me. Every year Antarctic animals migrate further and further south to escape the growing temperatures brought on by climate change, and soon there will be nowhere further south to go. The fact is there is not much time left to save the Antarctic, and something needs to change soon if it is to have a chance to survive.
The biggest insight this trip gave me was a sense of urgency for the conservation of the Antarctic, and wilderness all over the world, but I was also left with a sense of hope. If so many people throughout the world can come together to visit such an extraordinary and far-off place, then surely we can come together to protect this land and preserve it for future generations.
