If you are not listening to Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" while you read this article, you're doing it wrong.
But really, let's just talk about one hell of a mountain life can be sometimes. Just as you feel as though you have reached the top, you turn around and see another uphill climb to make. It can be exhausting and leave you feeling weak, hopeless, and just plain exhausted. Here is my advice to you:
When you cannot get yourself to take one more step, turn around and enjoy the view.
I am not telling you to live in your past. We all know that can be dangerous, and it can leave you stranded on the side of the mountain or even lead you back down. I am not telling you to look at all of the paths you could have taken instead of the one you are on. Chances are they would have been steeper, rockier, and lead you to a dead end.
I am telling you to turn around and look how far you have come. You are right where you are supposed to be; I promise. The rocks that seemed too big to climb, you conquered. The trees that seemed to block your path, you overcame. Although you have much longer to go, more mountain to climb, you have to appreciate how far you have come.
I did not see the beauty in my climb until this past week when I was in Colorado, literally climbing a mountain. My whole life, like many of you I assume, has felt like an uphill climb. Between my depression, family financial struggles, a mixed family, my mom's multiple sclerosis and cancer, among many other things, it seems as though I have never been able to catch a break. As soon as one struggle comes to an end, I am waiting for another to reappear, and I forget to take a breath and reward myself for making it this far. I forget to turn around and enjoy the view.
We did not make it to the top of the mountain last week in Colorado, and in an odd way, that was so fitting, especially to me. I am 20 years old, and I have been through so much. I have come so far and have conquered so many obstacles I have come across in my climb, but there are many more to go. In this moment, not only was I able to realize this, stop, turn around, and enjoy the view, but I was also able to look around me.
I was with three other girls (and Bridget in spirit, or through all the bridges we crossed on the path) who made the climb with me. Not only did they climb with me last week, but they have been climbing with me for the past year that I have known them. They have been my support, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, and my prayer of thanksgiving. What a journey it has been for us all!
We really are not on this journey alone, even if at times it may seem like it. Life sure is one hell of a mountain, but next time you feel too tired to climb, turn around, enjoy the view, and enjoy the company.
You've got this!
