The Climb
August 26, 2019
Note: must read to end for final picture
Cue in Miley Cyrus…Just kidding. But let’s focus on the title of that song for a minute and you’ll see why it’s not as cheesy as you thought.
A lovely group of people from bootcamp decided it would be a good idea to do a hike every morning…at 6 AM. Now for most this would seem crazy (and no I did not attempt to do it every day) but the payoff was amazing.
How do you wake up that early just to do 1.5 hours of hard cardio? Well there’s a goal in mind. Much like our careers, we dream of the big payoff, that one stage we want to play, an award, or something along the lines of that. Visible proof to show we have made it. Just like the hike, the top is the goal we are all aiming for, BUT we might not make it. I know…shocking for an artist to say that. We have to do everything in our power to make us better, just as we do as human beings. It’s the practicing our instruments, learning new songs, playing to empty rooms, writing, and self-discovering that makes us better artists. Now if we didn’t enjoy any of that on the way to the top, why do it? So we work hard and efficient. The alarm going off at 5:45 might be hard to get up to, but once you walk outside and breath in the fresh air, listen to the silence, and you reflect. Then the hard part comes, you enjoy what you are doing but boy oh boy is the hike getting steep…you seriously might want to give up at this point but don’t want to be embarrassed and don’t want to feel ashamed for not reaching that goal. This is when you have to remember that you are doing this for you, and because you love how you feel when you do it.
Fast-forward to the top…everything is calm, breathtaking, and beautiful. You know you could’ve done this hike at any other time in the day…but you wouldn’t have been there for the sunrise. On a side note, I used to be a sunset kind of gal. Don’t get me wrong, they are still beautiful, but there is something really special about a sunrise. Maybe you stayed up all night and are lucky enough to see it just before you have the chance to shut your eyes. Or maybe you woke up early for it because you just wanted a moment to be alone. Regardless, you put the work in to be there for that exact moment where you feel nothing but peace and gratitude. I hope I can feel this way in my career someday, but until then it’s the climb that’s going to get me there, and I’m going to appreciate every moment of it.
P.S …Sorry Miley for making your song 1000 times cheesier, and to the rest of the world…well take a look at the picture to see for yourself.
Hike: Pinnacle, RockRidge Canyon
