Before studying abroad, I had never left the country, never even been further west than Minneapolis. I spent all summer saving up for weekend trips, including one to Edinburgh, Scotland.
On our second day in Edinburgh, my group and I hiked to Arthur’s Seat. Or maybe up might be a more appropriate preposition, since Arthur's Seat is the highest point in the city. We're talking reeeeeally tall here. At first, it wasn't so bad. The scenery was breathtaking, and I was used to walking up hills in Exeter. But then the rolling hills became more mountainous, and I started to fall behind. There were steep clay faces and craggy rocks, and the path was becoming increasingly indistinct. Keep in mind that it was windy and pouring rain, so everything was slippery.
Perhaps now would be a good time to mention that I'm afraid of heights.
For some reason, this hadn't occurred to me before that point, probably because I had hiked up the Blue Ridge Mountains twice in high school. But then, it had always been dry, and there had been people to show me the way and give me a hand when we reached the rock faces. But this… this was new and lonely and terrifying. At several points, I felt a gripping panic start to slip up my throat, had no clue what to do, wished I hadn't gone, would've given anything to be back on the ground.
In the end, I made it to the top, but it wasn't so much out of bravery as much as there was literally no other choice. I couldn't go back because my group was ahead of me, and I couldn't stay there either. There was nothing to do but climb.
When I reached the top, I was a hot mess: I was soaked, my nose was running, my jeans and sneakers were caked with mud, and I was starting to tear up a little bit. But all the same… I made it. I know, I know— climbing a mountain as a metaphor for personal growth? So original! Yet as cliché as it might sound, that moment knocked the breath out of me. It was one of those insane study abroad learning experiences that puts fear and limitations into perspective. Here I was, a tiny Midwestern girl climbing mountains halfway across the globe… I couldn’t believe how far I’d come.
