Last year at this time I was out in Colorado living out of my car climbing 14,000ft peaks. I was single, voluntarily homeless, and smelly. I had left school for a 10 month leave of absence just a couple months earlier and was taking advantage of that time to spend some introspective time out in the backcountry. But this year things have been going a lot differently and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.

The last time I posted anything personal it has a slight tone of uncertainty and doubt. But since that post a few months ago, things have gone much better that I expected. Just last week I finished my first semester of second year med school and undoubtedly the hardest semester of school of my life. Taking nearly a year of from school did put some doubt into my mind as to how it would be coming back. I didn’t know how rusty or how motivated I would be and the idea of destroying myself to help others became less appealing after a bout of some serious lows last year. But for my last two exams of the semester, I managed to get my best grades yet, I felt confident with the material, and I’m excited about the stuff I am learning.

And on top of that I have an awesome couple of dogs and a chica who keep me happy and balanced. I’m loving living in Norfolk, and I love my day to day routine. So 2016 was globally a total disaster but I’ll certainly look back on this year as me coming back after a rough 2015 of getting crushed on the Appalachian Trail.

As the year comes to a close, I have some goals for the upcoming year. With my first round of board exams for my MD coming up, I of course want to do well on those. I want to continue taking care of myself and making sure I maintain my sanity with a school-life balance. I want to make more friends in my new med school class and of course get out on some more adventures. It’s been since June since I’ve slept out in the woods so I’m hoping over the next couple weeks to get some more material to tell about. Until then, back to writing about prep for adventures!