The week before last, I celebrated my 21st birthday. For me, a typical birthday celebration at Princeton usually looks something like this: After a day of classes, my closest friends organize a lovely dinner at a nearby restaurant and we call it a day. This year, my birthday looked something like this:
I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to climb to the summit of this mountain
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![The peak of Mt. Kenya from Shipton's Camp base camp. Mt. Kenya](/sites/default/files/images/IMG_3539%20%28533x800%29.jpg)
By 6:30 a.m. I found myself here, on the summit of the second-tallest mountain in Kenya. Although it certainly wasn’t my typical birthday celebration, and although I never imagined I would spend my 21st birthday climbing a mountain, I certainly think it was a memorable way to spend it!
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![At the peak called Pt. Lenana Kenyan flag at the summit of Pt. Lenana](/sites/default/files/images/IMG_3418%20%28533x800%29.jpg)
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![The group that climbed The group that climbed](/sites/default/files/images/IMG_3607%20%28800x445%29.jpg)