I do my best thinking on airplanes. I don't know if its because it usually marks a transitional period in my life - like when I would fly home to Eugene after completing a grueling semester at Occidental or when I flew to Australia to study abroad for five months with my boyfriend at the time- or rather that it is an uninterrupted time where i cannot "do" and must sit and be present in my thoughts. I know for some people this kind of thought happens in the shower or early mornings when they are fresh. I guess it depends what type of thinking we are talking about. I'm refering to life thoughts and reflection, not academics or solving the worlds problems, which in that case I do believe is done best with coffee and the rising sun. No, I'm talking about analyzing personal goals, accomplishments (or lack there of), relationships and overall wellbeing. I guess what I do on a jet plane resembles what most people do at the end of the year but instead of negatively assessing and creating plans to improve I really just take it all in and process and get excited for what the future holds.
 
Today I'm flying to Nairobi, Kenya with my childhood friend, Corrine. I have a lot buzzing through my mind.. Like I said, it marks a transition time and probably the biggest one I've experienced in my young adult life; in November I finished PA school and in December I took the national board exam and became a certified physician assistant, something I have pretty much worked towards my whole life. I'm excited, nervous, even somewhat scared to start practicing but I know that this was the right path for me. To celebrate I figured something big was in order. Twenty seven months of cramming basically an entire med school education into my head plus a month of board prep and I was ready for break. I decided I wanted to a) go some place drastically different and exotic b) do some kind of trek or outdoors adventuring c) preferably in a warmer climate and d) do some sort of volunteer work. After talking to Corrine, who has previously been to Uganda claiming she had never been happier, and gushing over my friend Oyana`s instagram pictures from Kenya (where she has lived since undergrad), we began scheming an East Africa adventure on a rainy cold day in Eugene at Cafe Yumm.

And here I am with six weeks of exploring Kenya, volunteering in Uganda and hopefully summiting the roof of Africa ahead! Eeeee!!