They depart one by one, leaving their exam sheets at their seat. The room empties, leaving paper ghosts and air that lingers with the heavy sighs of searching for recall — "brain exhaust", as my graduate neurology professor named it. The exams are heavier as I pick them up; perhaps it's the graphite scratched into…
To climb a mountain: Mount Kilimanjaro, March 2026
5,895 meters.19,341 feet. The highest peak on the continent of Africa.The tallest free-standing mountain in the world. And I had the privilege of standing on top of it. It's been one week since I came off the mountain, and I'm still processing. Nine months of planning, training, shopping, packing (so much packing!), arranging, anticipating; all…
The things we carry
Seven-and-a-half hours. That's how much time I've invested packing one duffel bag. And that doesn't even tally the number of hours I've mentally hemmed and hawed over what makes the cut. For months, the gaping yellow maw of an off-brand waterproof duffel has been making wide-mouthed jabs at my inability to curate a shortlist of…
Conversations on El Camino 