“When I started my mental health recovery journey…it felt like standing at the base of Mount Everest –
This massive mountain called Life.
I looked up at it and thought, How am I ever going to climb that?
I wanted to live life to the fullest, but I had no idea how steep that climb would be.
At first, I thought recovery was a straight path upward –
You just keep moving, and everything gets better.
But I learned pretty quickly that it doesn’t work that way.
There were days I lost my footing.
Days I slipped and fell backward.
Moments when the cold winds of doubt and fear hit me so hard,
I wanted to quit.
But every time I fell…I got back up.
I brushed off the snow, tightened my boots,
And took another step forward.
Mount Everest stands 29,032 feet tall – about five and a half miles into the sky.
That mountain doesn’t get smaller for anyone.
It doesn’t move out of the way.
We’re the ones who change.
We’re the ones who grow stronger with every step.
I’ve learned that recovery isn’t about racing to the top.
It’s about finding the courage to keep climbing –
Even when it hurts, even when it’s cold,
Even when you can’t see the summit.
Today, I may not be at the top…
But I’m climbing.
And I’m alive.
And that, right there – that’s VICTORY.”
