For a while, the world for me was like a set of monkey bars. I swung from one place to the next, sometimes backward, sometimes forward, capitalizing on my own momentum, knowing that at some point my arms... would give out, and I'd fall to the ground.

It was a slow understanding that the lack of education in a country like Somalia creates these huge social problems.

I went through an extremely trying ordeal, but I never forgot the world outside was a beautiful place.

The big-time journalists generally had kidnapping insurance through their news organizations. Usually, it would pay for a crisis response company to help negotiate for a hostage's release. Freelancers most often had none.

I have a general sense of excitement about the future, and I don't know what that looks like yet. But it will be whatever I make it.