On April 13th, 2014 (Sunday) the day after we arrived at the ranch, we had to wake up early enough to start eating breakfast at 5:00am and be on our way to the mountain at 6:00am. I was able to see the excitement and determination - to climb up the mountain without any help of the mules - on every one of our group member’s faces. After our early breakfast we were split into two groups and hopped on our trucks to head to the mountain. The ride was long and cold. We all had our sweater, jackets, and pants over our t-shirts and shorts. Despite the freezing weather, we enjoyed looking at the sun rising from behind mountains.
After the long and cold ride, we finally arrived at the mountain. We were told to take our sweaters and pants off so that the mules can take our clothes. Even though we all hesitated to take them off, with some screaming and growling as soon as we took them off we started to warm our bodies up. It was like we were back in Canada. All of us looking so pumped we headed our way to our base which is about an eight hour away from where we were starting. Man... it was nothing like I have imagined. I had no idea how high this mountain was before so... I was so confident that I could hike up the mountain without any problem - meaning without getting too tired like the other people have told me. I told my peers that I have gone hiking before so base on my logics this adventure would not be as hard as others say. With my confidence I was so ready to hike up the mountain, thus I paced up with most of the guys and some of the girls who were more “fit” than I was.
The first time we stopped to rest. I was fine. I was so happy that I was able to keep my pace up with the guys and not only that I was able to keep up the pace, but also the fact that I was one of the first persons to arrive at the first resting point. However, my confidence and determination failed to keep up the pace. I was dying, literally dying, after the first resting point. Struggling to go any farther, wrestling with my mind, and getting ready to give up every time I take another step. It was nothing like going up the stairs or running. It was way harder, tiring, exhausting, and backbreaking. I don’t understand how I did it or how I was able to hike all the way to the peak without any help. Well... I did get some verbal help from many people. They cheered me on and some kept me going by hiking up with me and giving me hope and ambition to push myself.
I did manage myself to arrive at the base even though I was the last student to arrive, I was proud of myself. I was proud that I overcame the aches and pains, the temptation of getting on a mule, and most importantly did not give up and kept on going. People told me that nothing mattered as long as I did my best. It didn’t matter if I came in last or first as long as I did my best. ...What’s my best? Where is the limit to my best? How come some people are able to do “better” than others even when that is not their best? What if this isn’t my best? What if I could have done better but I didn’t? Does it really matter what my best is? Or is it how fast I can do and how productive I can be that matters? I didn’t understand as I was relating the encouragement to my life.
These questions never left me even when we were done hiking. In fact, more questions came across my mind as I was going back to ranch, in the airplane, at the airport in Canada, and even after a month in Canada. I found some answers to some of the questions but they always appeared whenever the word “best” came up. It is important to do my best for myself; however, it is more important to be the best in order to be accepted in our society. For example, students take tests at school. There is a time limit and students are expected to solve all of the questions (no matter how many there are) in that limited time. After the test students are given their marks and they are either satisfied or disappointed. No one has the right to judge a student who got a low mark and tell that student that because the mark is low, he or she didn’t do his or her best. Everything that matters, though in our modern society, is the things that are shown. It is likely that the students who got perfect or high marks on their test are going to be judged as students who have done their best. But what if the test was just easy for them because they have the ability and the gift of studying?
I think it is most important to be sincere and faithful to yourself because YOU will be the only one who knows if you’ve done your best or not. I also think that it is necessary for you to push yourself to the limit and have the requirements to be in the standard our society has made if that is what you really want.
After the long and cold ride, we finally arrived at the mountain. We were told to take our sweaters and pants off so that the mules can take our clothes. Even though we all hesitated to take them off, with some screaming and growling as soon as we took them off we started to warm our bodies up. It was like we were back in Canada. All of us looking so pumped we headed our way to our base which is about an eight hour away from where we were starting. Man... it was nothing like I have imagined. I had no idea how high this mountain was before so... I was so confident that I could hike up the mountain without any problem - meaning without getting too tired like the other people have told me. I told my peers that I have gone hiking before so base on my logics this adventure would not be as hard as others say. With my confidence I was so ready to hike up the mountain, thus I paced up with most of the guys and some of the girls who were more “fit” than I was.
The first time we stopped to rest. I was fine. I was so happy that I was able to keep my pace up with the guys and not only that I was able to keep up the pace, but also the fact that I was one of the first persons to arrive at the first resting point. However, my confidence and determination failed to keep up the pace. I was dying, literally dying, after the first resting point. Struggling to go any farther, wrestling with my mind, and getting ready to give up every time I take another step. It was nothing like going up the stairs or running. It was way harder, tiring, exhausting, and backbreaking. I don’t understand how I did it or how I was able to hike all the way to the peak without any help. Well... I did get some verbal help from many people. They cheered me on and some kept me going by hiking up with me and giving me hope and ambition to push myself.
I did manage myself to arrive at the base even though I was the last student to arrive, I was proud of myself. I was proud that I overcame the aches and pains, the temptation of getting on a mule, and most importantly did not give up and kept on going. People told me that nothing mattered as long as I did my best. It didn’t matter if I came in last or first as long as I did my best. ...What’s my best? Where is the limit to my best? How come some people are able to do “better” than others even when that is not their best? What if this isn’t my best? What if I could have done better but I didn’t? Does it really matter what my best is? Or is it how fast I can do and how productive I can be that matters? I didn’t understand as I was relating the encouragement to my life.
These questions never left me even when we were done hiking. In fact, more questions came across my mind as I was going back to ranch, in the airplane, at the airport in Canada, and even after a month in Canada. I found some answers to some of the questions but they always appeared whenever the word “best” came up. It is important to do my best for myself; however, it is more important to be the best in order to be accepted in our society. For example, students take tests at school. There is a time limit and students are expected to solve all of the questions (no matter how many there are) in that limited time. After the test students are given their marks and they are either satisfied or disappointed. No one has the right to judge a student who got a low mark and tell that student that because the mark is low, he or she didn’t do his or her best. Everything that matters, though in our modern society, is the things that are shown. It is likely that the students who got perfect or high marks on their test are going to be judged as students who have done their best. But what if the test was just easy for them because they have the ability and the gift of studying?
I think it is most important to be sincere and faithful to yourself because YOU will be the only one who knows if you’ve done your best or not. I also think that it is necessary for you to push yourself to the limit and have the requirements to be in the standard our society has made if that is what you really want.
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