“My time in Tanzania has been marked by extremes in the forms of poverty, people, heart and aesthetic beauty. But perhaps none has jarred my thoughts and emotions as much as standing above the clouds, above it all, ostensibly on top of the world, with a clarity and perspective of situations never found before. My initial thought while staring at the scene playing out before me was not so much an awe-struck feeling of my impending accomplishment of summiting, but a reflection of how I’ve come to be standing on top of a mountain, in Africa…It’s funny the thoughts that creep into your head at 4AM while you’re climbing 4,000m above sea level in pitch darkness, with just the guides’ voices and screeching wind to break your train of thought. It’s even funnier how, at the first sight of light, everything just makes sense.”

Because the world can be pretty awesome, right?