Cell Fate, Cell Differentiation & Traveling Again

Above: Me in San Jose, all bundled up in preparation for my marathon trip to Cornell. I flew from San Jose, CA to Phoenix, AZ to Charlotte, NC to Philadelphia, PA to Ithaca, NY. It took me almost 24 hours due to delays.

Below: Me in front of the puddle jumper I took in and back from Ithaca. It was a 35-seater. The Thursday that I flew into Ithaca was extremely windy and both my flight into Philadelphia, on a much larger plane, and into Ithaca were pretty bumpy. Oddly enough, I did not feel in the least bit scared or nauseous. It might have had something to do with all the benadryl I took on the overnight flight to Charlotte. I remember thinking groggily, "Oh, a free roller coaster ride." But on that same Thursday a similar, slightly larger propellor plane crashed on the way to Buffalo-- probably due to the high winds-- so everyone in my family who knew where I was got a little worried. As it turns out, my flight was the last flight into Ithaca due to the wind so I was lucky to get there.


Below: Me on the commons in Ithaca. A nice couple was friendly enough to let me hold their 7-week old puppy. Can you tell I am happy after my three days touring the veterinary school?


Although I have done lots of journaling lately, it's been awhile since I've updated this blog. I've been pretty busy, with what it's hard to even remember. As most of you know, the most exciting news in my life is that I got accepted to Cornell's veterinary school. I am thrilled beyond belief (literally-- it took a full week for it to sink in that this was really happening to me after all the time I had dreamed of it). This weekend I went to visit the school. I loved it.

For so long I have worried and wondered about my career path. I wrote in a post this fall:

I was nervous of course, dreading what I call "terminal differentiation" (which is something I picked up in a biology class, meaning when a cell becomes so specialized it can no longer be anything else; the cell loses the ability to change course, reverse direction, perform another function in the body-- the term appealed to me because it sounds so harsh, which is how I feel about specialization). But I knew I couldn't stay a pluripotent stem cell forever...

However, I think I know what my path will be. I am now comfortable differentiating, specializing. I know my cell fate. Finally.

And now, I am enjoying a short trip to New York city, to be followed by a visit to Aunt K in Connecticut. Then, it is back to California, where I will immediately get on the road to Davis to tour the veterinary school there.

I am traveling again. On the plane I could hear Dar Williams' song by the same title in my head:

Have I got everything? Am I ready to go?
Is it going to be wild? Is it gonna be the best time?
Or am I just saying s-o-o-o? Am I ready to go?

And I'm afraid, oh, was there any good reason to go
When all I know is I can never come back