Oh the Places You'll Go

I felt like I was in a mini slump for part of the night. Frustrations of thinking about how much weight I still have to lose crept in, so this post may be a little deep, but I've been thinking about an experience I had a lot recently and thought I'd share it.

The Dr. Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go" has always been a favorite of mine. A lot of people get it as a graduation gift, but I can remember reading it when I was little. As I get older I find that the book just has so much wisdom in it.

Maybe the book is one of the reasons that I've always had such an urge to travel. My parents still talk about how interesting it was that in the 1st grade I asked Santa to bring me a globe for Christmas. I would play with it by closing my eyes, spinning it, and blindly pointing out a country. Then I'd try to learn as much as I could about that place and plan a trip there, clearly I've always been a nerd.

From all of that I've always had these goals to get to this place or that. My first goal I can remember was to go to Australia. I remember making plans with my grandfather and telling him all the things I'd do. A priority at that age was to meet some kangaroos! It still awes me at times that I achieved those goals.

I guess this week I have been feeling nostalgic. Probably because I shared one of my Australian adventures in a guest post (you can read that here). So, because I'm remembering all those great times, I'm going to share another Australia story.

While I was studying there I took advantage of the weekends and breaks to explore as much of the country as possible. One trip brought me to Tasmania. I went when it was their Fall and it was so cool. The seasons really weren't changing in Sydney, but the leaves were changing colors in Tasmania in late April. It reminded me of October in Pittsburgh really.

At the summit 

I had gone with friends and we stayed in cabins camping near Cradle Mountain. Our goal that weekend was to hike up the mountain and around the area as much as possible. I was in better shape then than I am now, but let me tell you - hiking up a mountain is no joke. The weather seemed to change by the minute. It was hot, then raining, then freezing, and then snow in some parts. Some of the paths had turned into mini rivers and we found ourselves soaked and trudging through deep mud in some areas.

I remember being tired and out of breath. I remember my knees hurt and having that mental war with myself pondering whether I could actually do it. People who didn't want to, or couldn't, climb to the summit could wait at the one level and the group would meet them again on the way down. I considered this, but I didn't let myself stop.

It was painful at times and there were many sections where I was falling behind the pack, but I made it to the summit. We hiked that whole weekend and so many times I asked myself "Why on earth would you go on a trip that you knew was all about hiking?" Well, because it was amazing there! Here are a couple pictures I took of the mountain we climbed:

Cradle Mountain 

It was beautiful. The main memories I have from that weekend are about how beautiful Tasmania was, how much fun we had as friends bonding during the hike, and the accomplishment I felt after.

I literally climbed a mountain that day. I reached a goal and proved to myself that I could do it. It is kind of sad that 5 years later I'm only now fully appreciating everything. I never could have imagined the amount of dreams I had as a 6 year old with a globe that actually would come true.

I never imagined that I'd be able to climb a mountain in Tasmania, but if I could do that then I should be able to do anything! Right?

How many times do we feel like we are facing a mountain? A huge hurdle to overcome? But it is so awesome when you get past it and just do it! Now I just need to keep this mentality and apply it to my new goals.

So as the great Dr. Seuss said:

You're off to great places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting, 

So. . . get on your way! 

. . .
Finally I'm linking up with Allie and Brin again to share my pits and peaks!

My Pits and Peaks for the week:

 

Pits

1. The soreness and pain I feel from my first session with a trainer (but hey, no pain no gain!)

2. This crazy weather! Tease with a day in the 60s and snowing the next day :(

Peaks

1. I saw Ed Sheeran live and he was amazing! My post about it is here :)

2. I'm holding my second blog giveaway! You can enter here! 

3. I got Pens tickets to 2 games this season! So excited!