My mom’s an avid hiker. I remember her dragging me and my brother out of bed at a young age. She was on a mission to get us to Flushing, Main St where a Korean hiking group would meet as a point of departure. We’d all shuffle onto a bus and get dropped off somewhere in the middle of trees and birds chirping.

When I was younger, I fussed about having to wake up early and having to “waste” a day of the weekend going hiking with strangers instead of doing whatever else I would have preferred at that age, which probably was nothing that exciting. Eventually, I started to enjoy these hikes over the last 10+ years and even more so yearn for them.

By February 2016, I’ve settled into my first full-time job, was becoming financially independent, and was craving new adventures. I had a week off and really wanted to go somewhere but couldn’t find anyone to travel with. I haven’t travelled by myself since I decided to study abroad in Berlin my spring semester of sophomore year, which only sort of counts because even though I didn’t know anyone, I still went with the safety net of NYU.

After all the back and forth, I finally decided to push myself and do a safe little solo trip to San Fransisco, California. This was my rationale:

1. I’ve been to Los Angeles as a kid.
2. It’s in the United States.
3. My friend’s friend, Steven whom I’ve become acquittances with moved out there and if anything at least I knew someone in the city.

• 

A lot had happened in the first 2 years of my nursing career. I met so many strong individuals battling cancer and fighting for their life. Many were just grateful to be alive. I’ve witnessed many struggle time and time again from side effects, complications, and progression of disease but they continued on with gratitude and patience. I’ve experienced relief, pain, happiness, sorrow, regret, peace, grief, and death through the long battles that came to an end for others. The most impactful and life-changing situations were the moments when patients’ were coming to terms with the end of their lives. I can’t tell you the number of people that spoke about what they wish they had done before they got diagnosed like travel more and spend more time with family or what they wish they hadn’t done like excommunicate people they cared about or spend most of their lives doing something they hated. Ultimately, this led me to reassess what was important to me in my life.

Little did I know, this trip became a pivotal point in my life. When I look back, this is the trip where I fell in love with nature, committed to my interest in photography and started my journey of the person I was becoming.

There were many moments on this trip where it took my breath away and when I’d inhale, it felt like I was breathing for the first time all over again. That kind of inhale where you feel your lungs expand to its fullest and your whole body calms with it. I keep going back to this one hike at Tomales Bay at Point Reyes National Park. Initially, Steven and I were trying to hike a different trail but somehow ended up on this one. The first half of the hike was pretty but basic. I did note a group of elks running across our path which I found very exciting. When we reached our turn around point, I asked Steven if he minded going off the trail and walking closer to the cliffs to catch the sunset. Secretly, I was hoping we’d find the group of elks.

Long story short, we spotted them and let me tell you, they spotted us. We all froze just staring at each other. Steven and I actually thought they were going to charge at us as they took a few steps towards us. We started moving laterally to show we weren’t trying to harm them. They mirrored us and also started moving laterally! We stopped looking at them to show we weren’t interested in them and eventually they started minding their own business too. Thank god! And as if we weren’t blessed enough for not being killed by a group of wild elk, the sun started setting and we saw this.

It literally looked like the opening scene from the Lion King. I felt adrenaline, peace, excitement, calmness, inspiration, and urgency to try to soak up this moment before it was gone. I felt so much at once. And once the sun fully set we walked through the night back to our car fulfilled but not quite. This was just the beginning.

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