I’m 18, 

I’m almost to the top, 

I need to graduate high school and be standing at the top yelling, “I did it,”,

then reality catches up to me 

and it opens my eyes to see that the “top” is only a ledge popping out of the mountain, 

I cling myself to the mountain and look down, 

I’m not even up that high, 

I feel like I’ve gone so far in life, 

As I look down I realize I have a lot to be proud of, 

a lot to be grateful for, 

especially to have an easy climb where the rock is bulged out enough to stand without fear of falling down, 

I glance up at the ledge above, it looks as if I could leap and grab it but no, 

A couple things I’ve learned is to be patient, it won’t be a perfect climb, 

it’s easy but sometimes it makes me stop and think my next move, 

And I’ve learned that you’ll get there when you get there both physically and mentally, 

it takes action to get where you wanna be, it’s not an overnight climb, it’s a daily process.

I stand on one of the rocks sticking out, close my eyes and start dreaming, 

I dream about my first year of college, 

who I might meet, 

what kind of friends I will have, 

where will I enjoy studying, 

and what my schedule will look like, 

but then I start to worry, 

what if I don’t make good friends, 

or struggle with my classes due to not being able to balance my life as a college student, 

I know it’s not going to be easy, definitely a steeper climb

college will be a new chapter in my life, 

that I can’t wait to write, 

And sometimes I dream about being an adult after college, 

That will be the longest climb will little ledges representing accomplishments, 

It's a climb till you die,

It takes work, hard work but that what it takes to move yourself forwards, 

hard work is what it takes to climb to a part of your life where you can live comfortably, 

but that doesn’t mean the climb is over, climb is over when you die,  

I wonder if someone has ever reached the top, 

I can’t see the top from here, I get dizzy when I try to look up as far as I can see, 

or maybe there’s no top, 

maybe this climb is about finding your values and what’s important to you, 

and not about trying to climb to the top for success and flaunting what you have accomplished in life, 

It's more important to find yourself on the climb, 

because success won’t define you as a person even if your standing on top of your mountain