Last summer, a few friends received a phone call from an Island woman who had found a message in a bottle with their names on it. Years before, these friends had spent the summer working and playing on-Island. One particularly memorable evening, they buried a bottle in the sand, and quite positively forgot about it. They forgot about it, that is, until that phone call. And soon they were reunited with this piece of a summer past.

I never found out what their message said, and I will not lie, I am still curious – but more importantly, I became intrigued with the practice of sending out messages in bottles. Over this past year, I have acted on a serious fascination with the whole message-in-a-bottle experience.

In the fall, while studying in England and traveling around Europe on the weekends, I was determined to document my first trip abroad.

Over the four-month period, I kept a journal, composed group e-mails, sent out post cards, and took hundreds of pictures. I also sent out messages in bottles.

The first message I sent was with a Vineyard friend in Paris. We spent an amazing weekend traipsing around the city and reminiscing about our Island summer. One beautiful September evening, we sipped Champagne by the Seine. When the bottle was empty, we wrote a note, sealed it inside, and dropped it in the water. Another friend and I did the same in London, and then in Prague. None of these times did we actually put down contact information. Instead we signed pseudonyms like Don Quixote and David Bowie. These messages were more about capturing a moment in time – wanting to do something to commemorate an experience. Our messages were post cards to no one, or anyone – depending on how you look at it.

I spent the year knowing that I would return to this Island, and knowing that there would be many message-in-a-bottle-worthy days. I can’t possibly mark them all with a letter in a bottle (I am trying to be more consciously green), but I can mark a few. And so if a bottle washes ashore, open it up, and maybe you’ll find a few words from this disguised writer. Major Major Major Major, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and Megadeth are all fair game.