Life is hard. It’s challenging. It’s going to push you past your limits. Sometimes, you just want to give up. But without life being harsh, you won’t be able to reach your full potential. If you persevere through the ups and downs, then you can find something that can really make you smile. A great accomplishment. I’ve written this second-person narrative about a person climbing a mountain to represent the struggles of life. One of the main principles I try to represent in this piece is that even if everything you worked for falls around you, you can still rise from the mess and go even higher. You can do it. I hope you enjoy this meaningful story and that it helps you in whatever hardships you face.
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You are at the top of the mountain. It’s cold up there, but you don’t mind. You take a deep breath of the freshest air. The light breeze across your face gives you a sense of dreaminess. You feel like you are on the top of the world!
You remember that the expedition to get there had been a real struggle. Your mind wanders back to the bottom of the mountain. You’d first started climbing to see just how far you could go. It was just a way to pass the time, a little fun, a little wonder. Soon enough, it became so much more. It became a goal. You were determined to get to the top. With a new sense of dedication, you had firmly gripped the next rock, and continued to climb. Yet you weren’t able to. You had felt that ledge begin to crumble under your hand. You were suddenly widely aware that you were climbing without a rope. There was no assurance you would survive.
You struggled to hold on to something stronger, and in that process, you tripped. You begin to lose balance, and you fell. You felt like everything was over, although you didn’t want to believe it. You felt a sudden spike, like a shock through your body. A piece of your clothing had gotten stuck to a pointy rock. You were alive. You spun around, and wriggled, and soon enough your hand had caught on to something firm. You had fallen quite a height, but you weren’t at the bottom yet. You could still reach the top. So, slowly, you disentangled your clothing from the rock, and continued your journey, more careful, this time, more strong willed than ever.
As you continued to climb, you lost sense of time. Had been here an hour, or a day? You weren’t sure. The sounds around you were muffled. You felt drowsy, dizzy. You couldn’t see properly. It was then that your leg scraped that rough, jagged surface. Pain seared through your body. You wanted to cry. But you didn’t. Instead, you stopped. You felt around, and found a small space for you to rest, and after a long time, you sat down. You tried to get your bearings, as you looked down, you found a hole in your thermal leggings and fleece trousers. From that hole, blood was gushing out continuously. The sight made you sick. You took a cloth from your bag and wet it with a bit of water. You dabbed at the injury until the blood was gone. You didn’t have a bandage so you just took a dry cloth and wrapped it around your leg, hoping it would get better. You looked up at the twinkling lights in the sky. Were they stars? You weren’t sure. Slowly, you drifted off to sleep, and the last thought in your mind was “I will reach the top. I can do it, I will do it, and I will show the world I can”.
You were awakened by a bright light. You had momentarily forgotten what had happened. As you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, you tried to remember where you were and how you got there. After drinking some water, your bottle already almost empty, you continued your journey. Most of the journey was similar to what had happened when you first started climbing. Some injuries, here and there. A few places where you almost lost your balance. At one point, you even started hallucinating and thinking that you were about to step on something firm but were really just setting your foot on air. That was probably the scariest thing that had happened to you, and it was an indicator that it was probably time for you to rest.
After what seemed like weeks, your hand gripped the last point, and you pulled yourself upward to find out that there was no more climbing left to be done. Your goal had been accomplished. This is where you were now standing. High enough to reach for the clouds.
Giddy with joy, your heart starts dancing. You were the highest anyone had ever gone. You had done the impossible. Now you feel light as a feather, no care in the world. You wish that this moment will last forever. Alas, it does not. As you stand up there, you raise your hand to click a picture. All of a sudden, your foot gets stuck in a hold, and you trip. You feel a sinking feeling in your stomach as you are suddenly weightless; and you’re falling, falling, falling. Past all of the hard work it was to get to the top in the first place. Nearly unconscious, due to lack of air, you pull the parachute line you had completely forgotten about on your journey upwards. With a thud, you land at the very bottom. You ache all over, but you are not dead. Instead, you have given up. You felt that you have lost everything. That there was no going back up. Maybe if you tried, you could… but why should you?
Suddenly, something catches your eye. Life, striving to grow in the mountain climate. The air here isn’t warm enough to support regular plant life, but this one was doing it. It was going against all odds and adapting to its surroundings. It had been through snow, and not perished, though many others would have. It’s from that small plant you are inspired. You think. At first, you thought you had been to the highest mountain in existence, but had you really? In the distance, you saw one even higher. A glimpse of a smile crosses your face as you ponder what it would be like to reach even higher. You would keep at it until you succeeded. And so you embark on a new adventure, to an even greater peak… to heights you’ve never dreamed of before.
