When I was 18 years old, I was diagnosed with my first chronic illness . Then, last year, at 30, a second. Psoriasis and polycystic ovarian syndrome both run in my family. My life, consequently, has been peppered for over a decade with periods of flare-ups , and day to day, I am more aware of my body and its pain levels than I would like to be. A reality of my life, one I have had to work hard to accept, is that sometimes my body has different plans than I do. This is never more prevalent than when traveling. Changes in climate, the toll of long-haul flights, even something as small as how the water affects my skin or the shift in time zones can make a marked difference. Sometimes this simply requires me to manage my fatigue and give way to rest; other times it has resulted in hospitalization and longer-term complications. At 25, I was canoeing in New Zealand off the Bay of Islands, glass-like water shimmering for miles around me as we scanned the horizon for wild dolphins.…