Let’s talk about a 16-year-old Australian girl who just finished her nautical loop around the globe. I’m inspired and here’s why.

This month we hear of thousands of fresh graduates, finishing their 4+ years in secondary education with paper diploma in hand and genuine surprise that they survived (literally.) Kudos, congrats and danke for your service.

Jessica Watson put some at unease when she announced last year that she’d be taking to the seas in a quest to circle the Earth at an age when most girls are obsessing over boys and shoes. Too young, they claimed. What if something awful happens? Should her parents be held responsible? And what about the psychological toll of such a long journey?

That’s what I’m most interested in. We’ve all felt like ships at sea, hermits in our apartments or cities. Maybe we hole ourselves away for an afternoon or even a day. But 210 days is unimaginable, a length of time that would be a prison sentence aboard a 34-foot yacht to most of us.

But what better way to discover who you are than in the solitary life of a ship’s captain! These are trials and thrills that we no longer allow, the ability to reason independently for hours on end and avoid the unimportant aspects of daily life. The boat keels over sideways into the frothing water during a storm; you hang on and ride it out. You lose sight of land for two months straight; you keep calm and carry on. This same attitude prevailed during our worst wars, depressions and hardships.

Now that she’s back home 23,000 miles later, this young woman deserves the accolades. All the sponsorships, nay-sayers and support her team provided shouldn’t detract from the experience and triumph. She had a plan, stuck with it and prevailed.

There’s been controversy, as in everything now; she may have missed capturing the world record for youngest around the globe after allegedly not sailing north enough of the equator (although she’s ineligible anyway due to new rules that require someone to be 18 or older.) But no matter, for Watson seems far more mature than her age belies:

“If I haven’t sailed around the world,” she said according to the Los Angeles Times, “I’m a bit lost as to what I’ve spent the last seven months doing.”

For more, see her blog.