Sparking A Passion

Today, as I take a break from my Environmental Economics readings, I would like to recount my first hiking experience. It was years ago, but it was the one that started it all. Not only did this hike instill in me a new and raw appreciation for nature, but it also was a nudge towards an entirely new future that I had never even considered let alone anticipated before.

After I graduated from high school, I had the opportunity to travel through Europe with 65 of my fellow classmates. We visited France, Italy, Scotland, and Germany - just to name a few. Switzerland was among them. Not knowing much about the country to begin with, I hadn't a clue what to expect when we made our journey there, and of this I am glad. If I had had any previous knowledge, maybe I wouldn't have been so thrilled with what waited for me. It may have ruined the surprise.

In short, I've never seen such a beautiful place as Switzerland. We stayed at a hostel in the mountains, resting below the 9700-foot-tall Schilthorn - a summit in the Bernese Alps. When we were told that we were to hike this monster in a day's time, I didn't think much of it. I may have been a bit nervous or anxious - surely I was no athlete. Nonetheless, I was excited.

Hiking the Schilthorn proved to be no easy feat. We gained nearly 5000 feet in elevation in just a few hours - air became thinner and breathing thus increasingly difficult. It was altogether completely and utterly exhausting. Several times I was on the brink of tears, cursing and complaining my way up with a couple close friends whose struggles were no less significant. To this day I consider the climb to be one of the most physically and emotionally strenuous things I've ever accomplished. And yet, it was still accomplished. The beauty that I witnessed on the top of the summit is something I will never forget. It was breathtaking, raw, and so extensive! I could see snow-covered peaks in every direction surrounding the lookout, and grassy valleys tucked way, way below. The intense effort that it took to get up was immediately rewarded and all regret that I may have felt vanished. Any and all inner turmoil I carried with me up the mountain was released and I felt this new sense of freedom which I had never felt before. The air was crisp, my heart was alive and beating thunderously - a constant reminder that I was not only alive but I was living. My head was clear. My vision keen. And it was then that I knew my life would be immensely different when I returned home.