After Some Time to Reflect

I am finally back home, and I have lost track of home many times I have told the same stories repeatedly. I tell everyone about the struggles we had dealing with the snow, how I am Wilderness First Aid certified, and of course, I talk about how high we made it on our trek. Our…

Lessons from My Adventures Abroad

After reflecting on my time in India, I know one thing for sure. I know that I have never been happier. I have never been in an environment where I felt so sure about myself, about my academic passions, and about my future. Aside from the fact that this trip was an amazing learning experience…

Reflecting On the Trip of a Lifetime

I’ve been home for about two weeks now and have finally had some downtime which I’ve reflected on the last month. Over the course of the trip, I found that there was so much going on that I was never able to find much time to really think things through and evaluate how I was…

Thoughts from the ‘Clair

Being back in the US for 17 days has been an experience. I never had a shocking feeling of reverse culture shock, but I have noticed a change in my approach to life. The bagel store having a long line or getting cut off on the Garden State Parkway (which happens all the time) feels…

The Last Post

It’s finally setting in. The whole experience. I remember our guides saying how it would all hit us later on, once we were back home, back to our normal lives. I find myself thinking a lot about what happened and how I grew during my time in India, even when I didn’t quite realize it…

Conclusion; 06/16/2023

It has now been over two weeks since I returned from India, and I am still thinking about my time there. The month of May feels like a blip in my life. The normal flow of time diverged for thirty days and took me on an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime adventure that continues to shape my perspective…

Farewell

It has now been two weeks since my time in India but life has seemingly gotten more busy not less since my return. Moving to New York City, starting a new job, and spending a week in Virginia for work has made digestion of all the events in the past month difficult to say the…

Embarking on a Life Filled with Greater Self-Awareness

One of the most valuable things that came from the Leadership in the Himalayas program is the opportunity to better understand myself. This greater sense of self-awareness of my strengths, weaknesses, my behavior under pressure, what I like, what I don’t like, etc. are all essential to me a living a fulfilling personal, professional, and…

Post India Blues

As my graduation from Pitt is quickly approaching, I find myself in a state of uncertainty about my future. With degrees in environmental studies and anthropology, I had a broad range of interests but I still lack clear direction. It was in this state of mind that I embarked on a transformative month-long trip to…