Just Part of a Journey

The bitter cold reaches into my lungs and yanks measured breaths out in crystallized puffs of air. I climb higher up the back of the mountain and leave behind an empty footprint with each step.

Sweat slides down my spine and pools at the base of my lower back. I tighten my grip on my board and flex my fingers over its base. I use it to chop into the snow in front of me and lean on it for extra support during the hike.

It is a beautiful cloud-less morning and it has been snowing for the last couple of weeks. There is plenty of powder to find. And, judging by the absence of tracks leading up the mountain in front of us, I could tell it was just me and my friends.

It was a stellar day for riding: fresh snow, good friends, steep cliffs, and big old empty bowls of pure bliss. What else could I ask for? I think about my question as I click into my bindings, ease off my edge, and drop off the first of what would be many cliffs that day.

Oh yes...that's right. I know what else to ask for. Even more so, what was needed. Progression. At that moment in my life, I knew the only true road to progression was the road that points to education. At that moment in time, education was only a mere couple of months down the road. Man...it came and went so quick.

Here you go, and may you enjoy.

I sat in a classroom today, surrounded by other students, and wrote the final exam of my degree. Four years later and it is all said and done. My degree may be done but my learning is only truly beginning.

I feel that my life is at an apex. I have reached the summit of the mother of all hikes and stand at the lip of the biggest cliff I ever seen. No fear. Once again, I do not hesitate to strap in, lean back, and make a running jump off the lip. I hate cliches, really I do, but in the end it is not the destination in life that matters...it really is about the journey. It is about the nicks and scrapes you receive along the way. It is about the wounds that score your skin and leave behind a permanent scar. It is about having your heart broken only so you can rebuild it stronger each time. It is about taking risks and either learning from the loss or reaping the reward.

I am so blessed. So many people stood behind me during these last years while I was in school. My best friend Steve, who watched over me in a hospital bed, my best friend Sophie who was there from the beginning of it all - she even drove me from the mountains across Canada. My professors who pushed me to excel. So many people.

And then...there is Gail.

My mother is my hero. She was there every single, iota, minuscule or large step of the way. She held my hand when I was alone, she rubbed my shoulders when I was tired, she fed me when I could not afford to feed myself. She shared my failures. She celebrated my successes. I never knew how to thank her over the years. Now I do. It is called being a university graduate.

This feeling is so hard to describe right now. I have worked so hard for a little piece of paper and yet the quantitative benefits are unmeasurable. The three little letters of BPR stand for so much more than Bachelor of Public Relations. It stands for late nights, early mornings, horrible headaches, travels to caribbean waters, a back tattoo, a loss of a friend, a couple of broken hearts here and there. It stands for being clean from drugs. No more foreign substances in my blood. It means being stronger than I even realize. It stands for a book I wrote that just passed its first round of edits with fabulous reviews. It stands for my new direction in life.

Today is not the same as yesterday, and tomorrow, tomorrow will never be the same as today. I have learned to wring and twist every little drop of life out of every day now. I am taken advantage of the opportunities to right the wrongs in my life. To not give up when I want to quit. To work harder when I am past the state of exhaustion. To laugh when I want to cry. To hold my head up and see the world around me.

I am proud of this. Proud is only a word from our simple language that could never capture the emotion inside or explain how I really feel. Our simple language could never capture the hard work that went into this. The fun times. The incredible times. The simply amazing people I have met. The pure unfettered happiness of the insanity called school. I will miss it so but I look forward to what comes next.

So, tonight I celebrate. Next week, I start a business plan for my own PR agency. Yup. I am going for the whole enchilada. I wonder if they will allow running on the stage when I go to accept my degree? One step down, Gail, and so many more to go. One day at a time.

Until we meet again, my friends, until we meet again.

"If I was young, I'd flee this town, I'd bury my dreams underground/As did I, we drink to die, we drink tonight/Far from home, elephant gun/Let's take them down one by one/We'll lay it down, it's not been found, it's not around/Let the seasons begin - it rolls right on...let the season begin - take the big king down." - Zach Condon of Beirut