getting to the peak on a hike (and in life)
soy la misma newsletter
For two years, my boyfriend and I have learned to enjoy the outdoors regardless of the weather, especially taking hikes at state parks. Some hikes are a breeze, and those usually look like flat, clean terrain with minimal incline. And a hike's excellent conditions typically feel like a lovely day in Spring -- birds are chirping, the breeze is slightly caressing your face, and the sun is shining enough to keep you warm but not hot. Well, some of the hikes we've down in Minnesota have been the least challenging, especially during the winter. Less than two weeks ago, we visited Myre-Big Island State Park near Albert Lea, Minnesota. Our main goal with hiking is to walk on the 'Hiking Club Trail,' which leads us to a password! Collecting passwords has perks, like winning a free night of camping at any state park (you must collect so many for that to happen). We arrived at the state park on a Saturday afternoon and enjoyed a solitary evening of camp -- it was nearly below-freezing. Still, we stayed warm in our cozy teardrop camper. We decided that with sundown, we'd hold off starting anything until the following morning. We started the hike by 10 am the following day, which took us over two hours to finish. We had accomplished around six miles of rough terrain. Some of the trails at the Myre-Big Island are paved! Unfortunately for us, the trails were full of ice and deep snow. We do not own snowshoes, but we've hiked on snow before, so we continued. Another unfortunate thing about the state park is that its views are not the most flattering unless you genuinely love the lonely prairie with naked trees. Our hike reminded me of the movie, "Wild" with Reese Witherspoon. Interstate 90 is not too far from the park that once you hit the trail on the east side, you start to hear the rumbling noises of semis and vehicles. At that point, I really thought I was hitchhiking. I had moments of regret and exhaustion while we zig-zagged through tight pathways and walked on sharp inclines through heavy snow. It didn't help that my anxiety spiked when I noticed we had a way to go and we were the only ones on the trail. After almost giving up out of no end in sight, I felt so overjoyed to see the road that took us back to camp. Once at camp, we changed from our wet outfits to dry, comfortable clothes for our ride home. We celebrated with a stop at Erbert's and Gerberts! Finishing a hike hits the spot just like completing the mile did for me back in public school -- I was not fast, but I got it done. Similar to the hike, I peaked in my early twenties and plummeted at 24. I felt like I had accomplished so much in college and a year post-college. My triumphs were based on receiving awards and praise. For the longest time, I've been measuring my worthiness with how many people like me, entrust in me, talk to me, how often I share on social media, and who gives me likes or comments. Pretty bad, right? I couldn't help but believe this to be true because of what I saw from friends and acquaintances. So and so were nominated for a national award, so and so was named [a insert fancy title], so and so is starting grad school, and the list goes on. I couldn't help but continue to compare myself with others. I wanted more for myself (which is not to say that's bad because it isn't), but I didn't realize that what I was chasing after were the dreams of an 18-year-old me. 18-year-old me wanted a law degree to keep proving people wrong and, most importantly, to prove that her parent's made a great choice by immigrating to the United States and she would be the golden girl as a fancy lawyer. But A TON has happened in my life since I was 18. At 26, I realize that with life, there will be many hikes, not just one! And my peak versus someone else's will look different. Regardless of the peak, I have learned to be okay with the day-to-day life of just figuring it out. I'm happier learning to heal and keep going because all of this is my peak, and it'll feel good as long as I'm working on myself and getting to the other side of the trail.
What I'm Currently Loving Right Now
My therapy sessions
The fact that I have a 62-day streak with Duolingo! "Je parle Francaise" (;
My new, light-blue Cotopaxi jacket!! A great jacket for them cold hikes.
What I'm Currently Not Into Right Now
I wrote a 5-page paper on abolition in British Literature, and my professor gave me the lowest grade I've ever received with a writing assignment... like, I started questioning my essay writing
The freezing temperatures of Minnesota
TikTok -- I started to feel like Tik Tok was recently just being too honest that I had to get rid of her
What I'm Currently Watching
Harlem Season 2 on Amazon Prime
New episodes of Abbott Elementary on Hulu
Physical 100 on Netflix (so good!)
What I'm Currently Reading
Honestly, mainly literature pieces for my 9th and 11th graders, like, "Hiroshima" by John Hersey and "Catch the Moon" by Judith Ortiz Cofer
I am subscribed to many newsletters, so I'm always reading those (maybe later, I'll curate a list of my favorite newsletters)-- from poetry to personal essays
Image by @hollymurray_doodles (on Instagram)