Bevan Barton is an 18-year-old kid from Oakland, California who's taking the year after high school graduation to cycle around the world. Sounds insane and ambitious, but though he's less than a quarter of the way through his trip so far, he sounds thoughtful, down-to-earth, and mature about this trip. Last but not least, he's hoping to raise awareness and funds for AIDS, specifically The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR), so take a few minutes to learn about the organization and consider making a donation.

In the past few months I've mostly been in slightly older company, I suppose because I've moved into the post-college world. Reading Bevan's journals makes me wise and wistful about on my own tour: a tiny blip on the map compared to Bevan's planned itinerary, but what I'm flattered to say my friend Jaffe terms "Best twenty-four days of life."

Good luck, kid. You deserve it, and you'll want it in the months to come.