My recent trip to Arizona, how I designed my own major in college, a brief encounter with Jon Krakauer, a few wolves, wisdom from a professor at the #1 liberal arts school in the U.S., and what the desert can teach us about resiliency and the importance of learning.

How a yard sale led me to buy a one way ticket to Nepal when I was 18, where I wrote a speech for the Vice President, painted a mural, and volunteered for CNN Hero of the Year, Maggie Doyne.