Conquering Half Dome

I had no idea at the time that this was the quintessential “cute photo” everyone poses at to capture their half dome ascent. I was too busy walking up and focused on getting to the top after overcoming the shakiest legs and nerves of my life climbing it with the cables down and a prusik knot. Was also relieved to reach a point that rounded enough I could walk and not need to carry the heavy cables while climbing. Will forever use this moment and day as a guide for how to get through tough moments and obstacles in life. You can overcome literally everything by taking it one step at a time, pushing through and just looking forward. You can also deal with going back down the same way once you get to that point. Nothing has ever scared me this much, and because of it, not many things will scare me again. Most alive, for me, happens at the crossroads of befriending fear and embracing “yes I can.” Needed to remember this today and thankful to be able to rely on the courage from this memory in the future.