“Mind over mountain,” our team leader encouraged at the foot of Mt. Everest, ready to climb the world tallest mountain. My team and I had trained for months for this day to come. I gazed at the majestic vertical mammoth. I was about to climb this mountain and overcome my fear of heights! I had climbed other mountains before but none as challenging as this. I could feel my heart thumping in my throat as we began to scale the mountain.
At first, everybody was excited and we soldiered on. My mind was still in awe of what we were going to do. Led by our team leader, we trudged on. However, it felt like we were always stuck at the same place. I looked up towards the peak of the mountain and saw there was still a long way to go! I trudged on reluctantly, starting to feel tired.
I glanced at my teammates and realised they were exhausted as well. Yet, they clenched their teeth and pressed on. I sighed. I had no excuse to complain about my fatigued muscles. As we went higher, every step became more arduous as gravity worked against us. Biting cold wind blew on us mercilessly as we struggled to scale the vertical mammoth. Minutes passed and I felt I could hang on no longer. Exhaustion set in and threatened to drag me down to my knees. However, I refused to surrender to it. The air was growing thin and each breath felt laborious. Reaching the peak was almost impossible. I had to summon every muscle in my body to keep going.
“We’re nearly there,” our team leader encouraged us. Indeed, when I looked up, we were almost at the peak!. A boost of energy perked me up. I tried my best. Finally, we arrived at the summit! A breathtaking sight greeted us. My jaw dropped in awe. Fatigue faded away as a gush of immense wonder swept over me. I felt that I was on top of the world, and this was the reward I received. It was certainly worth every arduous step!
With this conquest, I learnt that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and tried hard enough.