You can take a girl out of the mountains, but you can't take the mountains out of the girl.
Growing up in a place surrounded by mountains--you grow to appreciate everything about the mountains and what they can provide. Mountains are a get away. You can go for a hike and just hide away from the world. Mountains are secluded from the city that may cause lots of stress and anxiety. There's nothing even close to the feeling of being one with nature and expending a little energy at the same time.
Breathing in that mountain air--so fresh and clean--is a tool that I've always used to clear my head. I love the mountains. I grew up in Montana--a state named for mountains. I had access to mountains that were only a five minute drive away from my house. I was in the mountains whenever I could, doing whatever I could. Hiking, camping, skiing, hunting--I was raised a mountain girl.
When I moved to a different city for college, I wasn't surrounded by mountains anymore. The closest mountain range is around an hour's drive away. When I want to get away from all the stressors in my life, I can't run to the mountains. It's a truly difficult thing--not being able to be in a place that means so much to you. I diagnosed myself with the fake disease known as "mountain deprivation."
Even with the mountains being so far away, they still call my name. I still go to them whenever I can. Whenever I'm home, the first thing I do is hike. I was raised to be in the mountains whenever I could, so that's exactly what I do.
Mountain girls are a different breed of girl. We are strong and know what to do when life brings us down. We go out and explore the world around us and are able to shut out the things that bring us pain and stress. We can disconnect from the world for a while and not be concerned with the fact that we're missing the latest news on Facebook. We may come to points in our lives when we can't be around our mountains any more, but we try to get to them as much as we can and we take those lessons learned from being in the mountains with us wherever we go.
