She Can Move Mountains

In the fall of 2019, I visited Colorado Springs. It was quite amazing to go from the flat lands of Illinois to the mountains of Colorado. I met up with my cousin who had recently moved to the Denver area. She took me to a beautiful part of CO called Manitou Springs. In the distance, we saw a trail of stairs reaching up the side of a mountain.

This stair climb is Manitou Incline which is made up of 2,744 steps of railroad ties. This staircase gains a dizzying 2,000 feet in elevation over 0.88 mile1. We first explored the gift shop at the base of the mountain. One shirt caught my attention; it read, “You can conquer anything.” It showed the mountain with the stair incline disappearing at the peak. By the time we climbed up the mountain and then hiked back down the zig zag of trails, the store would be closed, so we had to buy our shirts then. Once I bought it, I realized that there was no turning back. Yes, I could and would conquer this mountain!

As we started our climb, the grade of the steps was deceivingly low. The higher we hiked, the steeper they got! We got to the point when our brain, ears, and eyes told us to look straight ahead at the steps: “Don’t dare look down at the vistas!” We had a frightful sense of vertigo when we glanced behind us and saw the stairs disappearing at the depth of the mountain. Fortunately, there were a few spots to pull off the steps, rest, and catch our breaths from the continuing thinning air. These rest-stops were well welcomed. We could sit down and smell the crisp Colorado air. Now, facing away from the steps, we saw the enormous sapphire sky, the range of the nearby Rocky Mountains, and the breathtaking landscape for miles and miles.

Half way up, I knew that we had to finish our climb. We had already passed the turn-off that would allow you to begin the trail hike down the mountain. The endorphins were flowing through my veins, and it felt like I could move the mountains which surrounded me. As we finally reached that top, sucking in the very thin air and sweat rolling down our backs, we accomplished a physical challenge that most people would pass up. We had conquered that mountain! Now, according to the t-shirt that was stashed away in my backpack, I could conquer anything.

Reading the phrase “You can conquer anything” reminded me of two things. First, you need to take steps to reach the top! Our world isn’t flat; it’s full of mountains, valleys, hills, and plateaus. Many of your steps in life will be challenging, but you need to conquer these steps. I may have conquered the steps physically, but you will have to mentally, educationally, socially, and physically conquer the steps that lay ahead. When I climbed the Manitou Incline, I quickly noticed that the staircase of railroad ties is not one with evenly spaced steps nor with even elevations. Because of this, my mind worked overtime, as I constantly paid attention to each and every step upwards. Take the steps to move those mountains that get in your way, and climb up the mountain where the peak is calling you!

Secondly, you need to challenge yourself! Search for different ways that you can educate yourself and get involved. If you are interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), challenge yourself to develop the skills to succeed in the STEM-arena. It may be competing in a science fair, joining your school math team, or volunteering for STEM programs for younger kids at your library. Remove the mountains of any negative challenges that get in your way, too. As I conquered that climb, I knew that I wanted to start this blog and engage young women in what STEM has to offer. Writing a blog would challenge me to improve my writing skills. It would challenge me to reach out and talk to other women in math, science, and engineering. It will also challenge me to interview women about their jobs and experiences in the STEM world.

Writing this blog is my challenge; go out there and find out your challenges. Explore and educate yourself. Move those mountains and shine. For me, it was climbing the steps of Manitou Incline that inspired me to “conquer anything.” Let’s find out what inspires you!