She Believed She Could, So She Did

Well, the time has come, I’m two days out from starting the journey of a lifetime and it’s fair to say I’m freaking out.

It’s been a whirl wind two weeks since flying back to the states from the mountains of  New Zealand. Five days in New York with my family preparing mail drops and taking care of normal life things like taxes, errands, etc. Eight days back in Chapel Hill wrapping up my MBA degree, saying goodbye to all my friends, and packing my life and driving a uhaul with everything I own into storage in Atlanta.

Lucky for me, I get to crash with one of my best friends for a few days in Atlanta before heading out for the trail on Sunday. Thankfully, he’s seen me through some other intense and stressful periods over the last two years, so I feel comfortable letting my feelings run amuck. The best way I can describe my current stat is that it feels as if my spirit knows that I’m about to undertake a huge mental, spiritual and physical challenge and a part of me is going “OH FUCK!” while another part of me is going “HELL YES!” And I isolate between the two extremes about every other minute.

I spent lunch this afternoon speed reading Appalachian Trials, in a futile attempt to cram for the journey of a life time. Cramming has gotten me far in life, but I know I can’t study myself into feeling ready for this journey. The only thing I can do now is show up Sunday, put one foot in front of the other, and be open to whatever experiences and people are placed in my path.

And reminding myself my reasons for hiking. 

My housemate gave me an incredibly thoughtful gift before I left Chapel Hill, a necklace with a compass charm on it and the quote “She believed she could, so she did.” I think that says it all.

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Comments 2

  • Jeanne Church : Apr 3rd

    Best of luck! We’ll be out there on the 17th as Spider and Backfire.

    Reply
  • Laura : Apr 3rd

    Good to know Jeanne! I don’t have a trail name yet, but when I do i’ll post it here. 🙂

    Reply

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