You are standing on top of a mountain, the highest you’ve ever been on; how do you feel now? Nervous? Scared you might fall? You clench your fists and raise your chin standing tall and proud, feeling on top of the world. The wind breaks the silence and the crisp cold air is the only thing bringing you back to reality. You close your eyes and for a moment nothing else matters. Not the hours of grueling climbing, not the seven mile hike, not the sweat dripping from your face, not your legs feeling tender and sore. The infinite feeling, that’s what matters. In life there are more mountains than in any range imaginable on earth. It isn’t until you reach the top and look back down when you finally realize what you’ve accomplished. You take one glance down and think of how strong you are, how much you can endure, and how the hike was worth it.

You look down from the peek when your mom and dad bring you into their room and tell you your sister has gone to heaven. You watch your family fall apart. You go to sleep with the sounds of your parents fighting, until the day comes where you sleep in silence, your mom moved out. Your world falls apart and reality is too far out of reach. You struggle in school and your thoughts of failing keep you up all night. You stop and take a deep breath. You can’t let yourself down. When you let everyone else down it hurts but when you let yourself down it kills. So you begin to climb.

You bring yourself back, takes you a while, but you’re back. Little things don’t bother you anymore, you’re strong, you can get through anything. The thoughts you think and the words you speak mean more now than ever before. As your weak knees shake and your hands blister, you can’t help but think about what you just did all on your own. You start to feel sorry for the people who will go through life without this feeling. Not for yourself, you never feel sorry for yourself, only the weak do. You look down at reality and smile. You learn to love those scars and blisters, that ache becomes a part of you. What seemed like the end of the world, now feels like a new beginning. You don’t want to go back down, but you have to because there are many more mountains to climb. You’re standing on top of a mountain. How do you feel now?