Smiles from today, 4 years ago...

A few days ago, at my workplace, I’ve been asked if I knew somebody who was looking for an internship like mine, my colleague said: “someone like…your photocopy!”. Besides the fact that I appreciated it a lot…I had to say no, there’s no other me that I know. Not that I think that I’m some kind of perfection, not at all, but if I decide to do something, and I really want to do that something, it happens that I do it quite well.

Only once in my life I found someone that made me think: “WOW, this person is me a few years ago!”. It happened with the guy you see in the picture. I met him when I was a teens entertainer onboard MSC Splendida in 2009. He was one of the teenagers and, from the very first moment I met him, I thought: “Wow, this guy is gonna do the same things I’ve done: he’s gonna work hard and he’s gonna succeed!”. At the time he wanted to be a chef onboard, so I couldn’t help him event if I wanted. I’ve never actually helped anyone reach my positon because I worked so hard to get it, that I believe others need to work harder if they really want it. He actually didn’t ask for help, he asked me: “How did you do it?”. That, I appreciated a lot. And I said: “Look, I worked hard and I’ve broken a lot of balls!”. It’s not something that I tell everyone, but he was so committed to his dream that I couldn’t help it to do something. I remember thinking: “He should be an entertainer! Look at him: he’s funny and polite and people love him…he would make the best entertainer!”. But he didn’t want to be an entertainer, so I suggested him to go back home, finish school and then send the cv and see what would happen…”maybe one day we’ll be colleagues, in some way!”. And he made it! He went back home, and back to school, and he send the cv. But that wasn’t his destiny I supposed, because after a while he asked me who my chief was …he was planning a very cool thing. He stand at the entrance of MSC’s offices and asked everybody if they were that person I told him…until he met him. I believe the amazing chief we had at the time, recognized the sparkle I saw too, and he interviewed him. I remember I didn’t put a good word for him, I was so sure he would have make it, I only asked how the interview went. They told him to go take some English classes, he did it, and then he sailed on his first ship. I was so sure it would happened, I would have never ruined the moment by telling someone that he was great, he demonstrated it himself! I would wish that for myself. I remember the day he called me saying: “Aunty…” it’s how he calls me “…I have a very big news, I know you’re going to be so proud and so happy for me: I made it! Thanks for believing in me, I’m so happy, and you’re the first person I tell because I know you’re happy for me too!”…I cried! I was as happy as the news was mine! And I remember I thought: “ He really wanted it, and he deserves it! I’m so proud he didn’t give up, he studied more instead and tried harder!” He reminded me of all the hard work I did to embark: I was used to wake up every morning and send a cv for every open position every cruise line had! I had to fill the forms in every time…again and again and again…and I spend days like that… I was losing hope when they called me!

We didn’t met onboard at the time, I was studying for my bachelor’s degree…but an year after he called me again : “Auntie, you remember when I commented your post on FB saying I wish I would go to the Caribbean with you, and you said that if I really wanted that I had to work hard and I would make it?!…well I’m going now!”…and I almost cried of happiness because after graduation I decided I needed to go back where all my crazy plans born…and I was going to embark on the ship to the Caribbean too!

I remember when we met in Naples: the square, the hug, the smile…the happiness! What an adventure we had then onboard, always there for each other. Some days he would give up and I was there to give him strength…some others I needed a smile and he would give me the joy of it. I’ll never forget the day I was preparing strawberries in the staff mess saying the only thing missing was wipe cream, and he got it for me…and we ate that together… That day he also realized I had an affair with someone…and never said a word about it. Because we were friends.

The two smiles you see in the pictures are the symbol of someone which dreams became true: we were arriving in Miami that day, we woke up at 6 but we were happier than nobody else because we were there together. We wanted to be in that place, that moment, exactly like that, we made it and we deserved that!

We are now doing completely different things, no one is onboard anymore, but the ship changed our lives and brought us together, forever, no matter what. I believe this picture means so much for the both of us, and reminds both of what we’re capable of!

This story is for all the souls that are trying to reach their goals, and for all the others that have enough faith to believe in somebody’s else dreams too, to those people that can see beyond what everybody else see, who are not afraid to recognize themselves in somebody else and wish for that person what they already have and much more. Because you don’t need to be helped, but you so need someone that believes that you can make it. I have someone that always believes in me too, besides all the others that try to make me fail…but heroes always win!

To you both…thanks for being you! I wish you happiness and success!