Before I start, just let me say, I am  not  a sailor.  In fact being one of those humans with middle-ear issues, my experience with anything that  goes with the flow  has been known to involve something decidedly, and messily, unpleasant.  I have, however, nothing but admiration for those who choose, (and have the stomach for) sailing.  In fact, I’m slightly jealous of them.  There is a certain kind of freedom associated with living out on the open water.  It offers experiences that go beyond the imagination of the ordinary landlubber.  And, it proffers the kind of education that expands the worldview in a way that no bricks and mortar educational institution could match.

Witness Tristan Bridge, a thirteen year-old sailor and writer who produced this remarkable essay:

I am born from days without seeing land, those days when the horizons seem to blend into one another.  I am from…