About Me
My life began with rivers. My mom rafted the Grand Canyon when she was pregnant with me, and before I was born I was called Miwak, after the family raft. Ever since, rivers flow through every part of my life. Rivers make sense to me even when everything else in life seems incomprehensible. When I have a fight with a friend or get frustrated with a project, I remember that when a river hits an obstacle it envelopes it, turns, and keeps on flowing with only a slight riffle. When I feel overwhelmed or overworked, I remember how eddies form in the spaces behind obstacles, providing room for the river to slow down, take a break, and recollect. When I have an intimidating test coming up or am about to embark on a new adventure, I recall the challenge of running a waterfall in my kayak, the exhilarating impact at the bottom, and the joy and rush of self-confidence that comes from challenging myself and pushing my boundaries.
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Rivers are hugely important, but much of my understanding of rivers is based on personal and physical experiences informed by a Western point of view, and therefore often feels limited. The more I participate in conversations about river issues, the more I realize I am only one voice in a complicated human and natural world. Navigating these conversations often feels like navigating a rapid; there are so many obstacles and rarely an obvious path. However, my tenacity and empathy lead me to strive to grapple with a more holistic understanding and improve my ability to understand different perspectives in order to pick lines through the human and natural obstacles. I want to spend time personally navigating the chaos of river issues by immersing myself during my Watson year in a broader perspective of river life and river cultures.
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