Day 1 by Jon Mallen

UC San Diego Academic Connections 2016; Hilo, Hawaii. This is it. This is day one. 

Day one, at first, truly felt like, well, day one. I started the day off dazed and tired having had only three and a half hours of sleep. This is not exactly how you want to be feeling starting off on a long trip, especially one to Hawaii. I was so dazed and tired I hadn't even realized I had been sitting next to two of my fellow Academic Connections research partners on my primary flight out of Los Angeles. Two new people who I had never met before.

That was just it: the theme of the day for me seemed to be "new people." While we flew on the same flight together the two girls who I sat next to were just that: new people. I flew into Hilo to eventually meet the rest of the Academic Connections research partners and crew. New people to me then. But as we spent more and more time together that started to change my view of them to more like new friends. I learned more about them and where they came from and their lives, and they in turn learned about mine. 

We shared many laughs, notably an ongoing joke about how much food I ate for our first dinner on the Big Island. I do eat a lot of food, but that's beside the point. Coming in to this program I'm surprised at how quickly I was able to make new friends and prepare myself to experience the nature of Hawaii on both a scientific and spiritual level. But I'm not doing it alone. We will go on a journey together; me, my instructors, and my newfound friends. 

-Jon

Day One