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Things I Do With My Sister

Genna and I, despite being two and a half years apart, are actually pretty close. I think about all of the new and cool things I’ve tried in the past month and how almost all of them are somehow related to her. In no particular order: Geocaching is a global scavenger hunt played by strangers through the Internet. People hide boxes, pill bottles, and magnetic hide-a-keys all covered in camouflage duct tape in nooks and crannies with clues as to how to find them. Genna introduced it to me a while ago and while it’s definitely her thing, I enjoy it too. Every time we go to a new city we’ll try to find at least one. Remember how fit everyone got when Pokémon Go went live? Similarly, we’ll walk over 3 miles to find one and log it in the records. SoulCycle is a cult. Not gonna lie. But the group mentality is actually really comforting. While it is a challenge by choice, having people around you holds you accountable in some sort of way to give it your all. Genna and I have only done a few cl
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Sleepover At Stanford!

I meant it when I said the Gracefully Clunsy antics weren’t stopping. Little known fact about me: I have been living with Sleep Apnea since... well, since I was born. My Sleep Apnea in particular comes from the fact that my lower jaw is inset and as a result I have a dangerously narrow airway. When I sleep the airway will collapse on itself. This has been a work in progress for about seven years. Today I finally had my jaw expanded and therefore opening my airway and allowing me to breathe like a normal person! So, in case you care, here are some stats and how I’m feeling: -I actually didn’t know I had wisdom teeth until a few months ago, so those got taken out today as well -My jaw is currently swollen and wired shut (a blessing to the people who think I talk too much, and trust me, it’s a significant number) -When I swish and spit my medicine there is a lot of blood -I’m actually not feeling a ton of pain right now, it’s mostly sore and annoying plus a bit of a sore throat
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April 13th

April 13th is maybe the best and worst day of my life. Let me start from the beginning. April 13th, 2014: We get into the Accident. I sustain the Traumatic Brain Injury. From this point on my life has changed for worse: my processing speed is unbearably slow, my short term memory has flown out the window, I’m tired literally all of the time-physically, mentally, and emotionally. From this point on my life has changed for better even though I may not realize it: I was going through a bit of a hard time and having the Accident come when it did actually got me out of a rut. However, this realization is gradual and isn’t typically my main reaction or first appreciation in the coming years. April 13th, 2015: The Accident is still relatively fresh. It has defined me now that I’m allowed extra time, I’m taking fewer classes, and I’m still incredibly tired-in all three ways mentioned before. I actually asked my parents if I could take a mental health day and skip school—I wasn’t a
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I Am Moana

It started with the fact that I live on a boat. No it’s not a raft like she uses but I am using lines to sweat sails like she does. We take watch periods in a cycle - 4 hours on 8 off - and whenever you get a clear night watch you can see a million different stars in the sky. My watch team leader Dan and fellow watch team member Jack are both really into Celestial Navigation and so I’ve learned a lot about the stars from them. One of my new favorite constellations is Scorpio. Scorpio’s tail is the Greek equivalent of the Polynesian Maui’s Hook. So yes, I Am Moana. A rundown of things: -our mains’l boom broke... uh oh -we swam crossed the Equator! -we visited St. Helena, Fernando De Noronha, and Devil’s Island -we are now in Barbados about to start island hopping -we are about to start learning how to SCUBA dive -we’ve been taking classes on Marine Bio, Oceanography, Seamanship, and Leadership (I have my seamanship oral final tomorrow... wish me luck) We had a prom on Argo
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To The Edge of the World and Back Again

While we were in Cape Town the crew of Argo visited Cape Point which is the southern mist point in Africa. I feel like I stood at the edge of the world. A few days later we set out to sea. It’s been about two weeks and we are now on the most remote island in the world, St. Helena. It’s so remote that when Napoleon was exiled for the second time (because they needed to send him somewhere even farther way) they sent him here. We set sail for Brazil in a few days. In the meantime keep checking the SeaMester logs! I’ve already been skipper of the day once and can’t wait to write again.
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Out To Sea

I’ve been in South Africa for four days. I’ve been living on a boat. Her name is Argo. We leave port in a few days and head across the Atlantic Ocean. In case you didn’t know, WiFi doesn’t exist in the middle of the ocean — not really anyway. Personally, I won’t be able to post on this blog (maybe a few times on port over the next three months) but you can check in on all my activities and life on deck here: the SeaMester blog , where the skipper of the day updates it each night. Wish me luck!
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Genna and I Sneak Out!

If you know me then you probably know that I am a goody-two shoes. Being a goody-two shoes is not necessarily something I'm proud of, but I like order, I like predicability, I like following rules, and I like my comfort zone. I also LOVE doing things outside of my comfort zone. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I like roller coasters, I like rock climbing, I like high dives/high jumps, and feeling the wind ripping through my hair in a fast moving vehicle like a convertible or a lancha. So here's where this comes into conflict: I like to play it safe. Even when it's out of my comfort zone it's still in an environment where I know I'll be safe and won't break any rules. Obligatory "This is what this gap year is for..." It's not about breaking rules but it's about letting go of expectations, of what is "right," and of not letting anything get in the way of adventure. So... we wanted to see "The Disaster Artist" o
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