“There’s always gonna be another mountain, I’m always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I’m gonna have to lose. Ain’t about how fast I get there, ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side, it’s the climb…” (Miley Cyrus: The Climb)
She may be the teen queen of controversy lately, but Miley Cyrus got it right when she sang the words to this song. Here we are, a nation on the brink of what is hopefully gonna be a positive change. So many opportunities are stirring, the country is alive with possibilities, but as an individual, as a teenager just trying to figure out who we are and what life is all about, the bigger picture doesn’t always play the protagonist in the story of our lives. Most of the time we’re concerned with just getting through the day, taking it one step at a time, anxious and afraid of what lies ahead but reluctant to look back. We’re on the journey of our lives and it isn’t an easy road.
Life can signify so many different things for different people but ultimately we all share the same fear and hesitation when we’re faced with failure, rejection and pain. We’re all individuals, yet our lives are inexplicably intertwined. Often, the regrets and mistakes we make overshadow our future, causing us to doubt that tiny flicker of hope dancing on the horizon. The thing about life is that you can never truly know where its going, or how what you do or say today, will inadvertently affect your tomorrow, or forever. Sometimes, the questions we ask don’t have the answers that we anticipated, but that shouldn’t bring you down cos we have to believe that we don’t always get what we want, most of the time, we get what we need. Let the realization of the imperfection of life be the catalyst that launches you into the acceptance that these flaws are what make the ride enigmatic and worthwhile.
The challenges we face, the rocks we stumble on, the mistakes we make and the detours we encounter, all play an important role in helping mould us into the people we become. It might be a hard road, that leaves you weathered and often beaten down, but climbing the mountain gives you the opportunity to truly appreciate the majestic view you look down upon from the summit.
I’ve realized that life isn’t too short or too long, it’s just unpredictable. Sometimes the forever we plan can be a long time and sometimes it can end abruptly tomorrow. The important thing is that we make every moment count. I know that sounds cliché, but its true. Just because life might take an unexpected turn it doesn’t mean that we should live in fear of that day, that moment. Instead we should let out that deep breath that we’ve been holding while anxiously tip-toeing through life and just take that leap of faith.
Every now and then we get so caught up in reaching that destination that we miss the breath-taking scenery along the way, we forget the people we’ve met on our journey and we don’t see or feel the shape of their footprints in our lives, the wisdom that their words or actions have imparted in us and helped mould us into the people we are or eventually become. My experiences have shown me that giving up doesn’t always mean that you’re weak, sometimes it just means that you’re strong enough to let go.
Our dreams, ambitions, goals seem so near yet so far away. We want to keep the faith but sometimes failure can make you so weak that you can’t even lift your head up to see the sun rising slowly on the horizon. You can’t see that second chance that’s beckoning you to try again, that new beginning encouraging you to never give up, the voice inside your head that’s cheering you on, even though at times it’s so soft that you can barely hear it over the louder shouts dissuading you, but its still there insisting that, “You can do it. The first steps are always the hardest, but this your life, keep running…”
In the midst of the raging storms of life, like when you’ve failed your third math test in a row and when your parents are going through a messy divorce and you and your best friend (who has always been your safe place to hide) have suddenly grown so far apart that you can’t even see each other anymore and, (yes, there’s more!) your heart is still beating for your first, still unrequited love, it’s kinda hard to accept that everything happens for a reason. I mean seriously, is that a sick joke or something? How do you keep smiling, or even keep believing that through every dark tunnel, a light shines brightly, waiting to bath you in its warmth and dispel the murky darkness that’s surrounding you? The trick is you don’t. No one is expecting a smile or even a tiny flicker of hope when you’re at your lowest. You don’t have to ‘know’ that everything is gonna work out eventually, it’s your ‘belief’ that keeps the wheels turning; you just have to keep on moving. Trudge on, because as bad as it was, it can only get better. Yeah, of course the road is gonna be long, and full of detours, dead-ends, lots of potholes, with every step you take clouds of dust blur you vision, but if the Prince didn’t cut through the thick vines blocking his way, he wouldn’t have made it to Sleeping Beauty. Similarly, if you don’t walk, run or climb the path of your life, if you just give up, you won’t reach that final destination. That high peak that towers above all the dusty roads and winding trials. You won’t get to see the beautiful landscape that your life has carved out. You won’t get the chance to look down and smile because you made it and you realize you’ve reached the top, all because of what happened at the bottom.
Macy Queen, a character in one of my favourite books, The Truth about Forever, by Sarah Dessen said it in a way that made me believe, when she finally left all her fear of life behind, “As for me, I was running again, but now I didn’t pay attention to times or distance, instead focusing on how it felt just to be in motion, knowing it wasn’t the finish line but how I got there that mattered.”