Top 5 lessons Kilimanjaro taught me
Why? Just why? This is the question that I asked myself endless times during the six-day trek I took to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest point and the world’s tallest free-standing mountain. After more than 70 kilometers under rain and snow, I was able to achieve a dream that I didn’t truly understand. Imagine the extreme opposite of your comfort zone, and then you will know what I felt during those six days. Drinking weird tasting water from the mountain, not having any internet or cell service, sleeping in a tent in frigid temperatures, being woken up at night with rain penetrating your tent, being unable to breathe properly, dizziness and heartburn, having all your clothes wet without a way to dry them, not being able to take a shower and most importantly not having access to a proper toilet…
These are some of the challenges that I faced while attempting this experience. Usually, people do the trek as part of a group, while I found myself with an agency that only booked me, so I had a unique experience where I had too much time to reflect and revaluate my relationships, life choices and future aspirations.
To be honest, I felt like I was about to give up multiple times. Still, then I managed to find the motivation from the people who believed in me and encouraged me to spend all of my savings on this crazy experience (that is technically considered my first proper vacation in almost three years).
While trying to document every feeling and moment, I came up with the following life lessons that Kilimanjaro taught me or highlighted their importance in a unique way:
1. Everybody needs help: when I decided to embark on this journey two years ago (yes, that’s how long it took to save for it), I started working out my legs and back expensively since they are the most used muscles in the trek. I built up strong endurance that I imagined would suffice to make this experience successful. Then I realized that it takes much more than that. I thought I could do it all alone without any help (which is apparently my attitude in various other contexts). But I realized the hard way that not only do I need help, but also it’s okay to ask for help. We always live in fear of being perceived as weak, so we internalize our struggles to keep up that unyielding fake facade. However, if we genuinely want to make our dreams a reality, there’s no shame in asking for a helping hand.
2. Big dreams are just endless small steps: due to the cloudy weather, I could only see the mountain’s peak on the second day. The moment I did, I felt extremely excited yet terrified since it looked so high. This mountain was more than double the height of the biggest mountain I climbed. I realized that if I looked at it as this far-off goal, it would turn the excitement into more fear. But if I focus on every step, I can make it slowly but surely. On the fourth night, I woke up at 11 PM to start the last ascent of 5 kilometers to reach the summit (the longest and worse night of my life, by the way). From midnight until 8 am, I was walking in freezing temperatures. My water froze, my backpack was covered in ice and couldn’t be opened easily, and my fingertips were in pain because of the cold (wearing two sets of gloves didn’t make a difference). Even though I was so close to the summit, I hated everything and was tempted to turn back as many others did. But I decided to follow the step-by-step philosophy. If I can take one step and then another and then another, maybe I can make it, and that’s exactly what I did. We all have big dreams that probably intimidate us to the point where we don’t even express them. Instead of standing idly by without pursuing those hopes, let’s divide them into as many steps as needed and take it one at a time.
3. Appreciate your body: this one is the most impactful in my situation since I’ve had a hate/hate relationship with my body for as long as I can remember. I look at it and see all its imperfections. My weight has always been correlated with my self-esteem, and I have rarely felt comfortable in my own skin. However, after this experience, I want to apologize to my body publicly and thank it for the amazing feats it accomplished during these six days. Our bodies do more for us than we care to admit, and it’s important that we show them the appreciation they deserve. I vow to never hate on myself anymore and respect my body for the way it is as long as I’m healthy.
4. It’s not a race: this one is an obvious yet essential lesson. When I started the first day, I was full of confidence, and I wanted to beat all the time records set at every camp. To give you an idea about how the trek works, it’s divided into multiple camps, and you have to walk from one to another. Each camp has a sign with the distance to the next one and approximately how much is needed to get there. At first, I was obsessed with beating those records, and why might you ask? No idea… I really have no clue what I’m trying to prove or to whom (the first thing to ask my therapist next time I see her). While this was feasible in the first few camps, it became impossible in the high altitude camps above 4000 meters, and that’s when I realized that it doesn’t matter how long it takes me to get there but what matters is the achievement itself. Capitalism made us value accomplishments based on how early in our life they are while losing sight of the effort needed to get there. We are all different and unique people who have their own rhythms and paces. Let’s not let this society discredit our efforts by comparing them to others.
5. Normalize Self-doubt: As I said earlier, I still struggle to understand why I decided to embark on this rough journey instead of spending a week in Zanzibar lying on a beautiful beach and spending way less money in the process (another question for my therapist to figure out). This lesson is brand new to me, but I realized with every day on this trek that self-doubt is a valid and normal feeling. It’s not something that we should ignore but rather acknowledge for what it is. Whether it’s a fuel to get you closer to your goal or a tool to reevaluate your priorities, make sure you embrace it for what it is.
To conclude, I want to acknowledge the importance of one’s support system in terms of reaching your dreams. While many people will laugh at you when they see your ambition, some rare people will take you seriously and not undermine your efforts to reach your goals but rather respect and celebrate them.
