𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎

Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ １０

> ᴀ ᴛʜᴏᴜsᴀɴᴅ ʙᴜʀɴɪɴɢ ʟɪɢʜᴛs

"𝘌𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨."

To change we must first know how to live authentically.

To live authentically is to live according to your values, your beliefs and have goals that you wish to pursue a "meaningful life." It's more challenging than it sounds. It would be helpful if there was some guide for us to live as our best possible selves, but perhaps the universe took it upon itself and declared that experience is the best teacher. Newborn compounds conjure from nothing to something, to someone, in the game we call life. The only objective that we have is to survive and reproduce.

Perhaps along the way you pick up skills from your environments. Make a name for yourself to be a unique individual, to distract the thought of the impending nothingness when you die. It could be getting into sports, spending time within the community, or indulging yourself in artistry.

Even working at a corner store didn't sound so bad.

Those things seem futile at first, but that's what's been drilled into our minds. To experience what the universe throws at us and .in so, we abide by the rules. By then you have made a plan for yourself, writing down and imagining the impossible from your youth to make them reality. You keep yourself in this repetitive cycle of working and wishing as the years go on.

So by the peak of your youth, you set yourself on this coming-of-age journey. Packing all the equipment you need to venture into the looming mountain that rises above your head. Many warned you of the risks, fleeting words that pass from one ear to the next. You're too determined to conform, only fueling the need to complete your quest.

The first steps from the ground are easy, firmly implanting your pick against the tough texture. It holds your weight just a few meters from the ground. You smiled to yourself, following the straightforward path. On some occasions, you breeze through each deep slope. No sighs of danger, just you and the mountain. You wonder to yourself, why so many have failed when you reach the halfway point. Shivering at the cold as you turn to the horizon.

On other nights, the terrain is against you. The smooth slopes turn into jagged teeth, piercing through your fingertips and toes. The mountain roars in fury, shaking you off like a pest. Your pick can't seem to find a sturdy spot to support your body, as the ground becomes your best friend.

Yet you persist through the obstacles that block your way from your end goal. Thrashing, wailing, clinging to the slippy slopes of the icy edges, the further you climb the harder you'll hit the ground. You've come so far, so why stop? Bloodied and tattered to your last breath, you swear that you will conquer the mighty beast.