They say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one

After a fairly large hiatus from the blog world, I am back...not necessarily with a vengeance (as they say), but back, nonetheless.

I've decided to change things up a bit. Originally I quite enjoyed other fashion blogs and decided to start something fashion related myself. I love clothing and fashion magazines, but I don't love what it all stands for (skinny, fame, money). And while I love ogling at a beautifully crafted pair of shoes, it's not what I want to write about. And it's not something I can fairly write about with passion.

This evening I read an amazing article. A 13 year old boy from California became the youngest person to ever climb Mt. Everest (and in record time) with his father right there beside him. He has climbed six of the seven summits and has already booked a flight to Antarctica to climb the seventh and last summit.

Miraculous doesn't even begin to describe his story. (And to make things even more amazing, the boy claims that his goal is to encourage a healthy lifestyle for kids his age by getting outdoors more.)

I was blown away by this article. I couldn't believe that someone so young has so much drive. Above all, I was amazed at how supportive his parents were through it all.

I grew up in a very protective household. My brother wasn't allowed to play football or hockey because there was a chance he might be seriously injured. It's safe to say that my brother was never destined to be a pro-football player, but that was never the point. Kids have dreams! I'm sure a lot of them are unrealistic and ridiculous, but I think we can all learn a few things from this little guy. He seemed to have great resources at his disposal when he dreamt of climbing the seven summits, and not everyone...in fact, few people...will ever have those resources (money, supportive parents, etc)available to them. But what I took away from this article was a small bit of hope. The dreamers are still out there and the doers are, too.

We've all dreamt of doing something or being somebody, and many of us have not followed through for whatever reasons. Piece of advice: Don't get in the way of others' goals and don't let others get in the way of yours. It's a challenge we'll all face throughout the span of our lives. Even if this boy never makes it to the last of the seven summits, we'll walk away knowing that he tried and kept dreaming because that's what he was driven to do.

We can't always be certain that our "dreams will come true," but we can be certain that dreaming and doing often coexist.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/22/teen.mount.everest/

Over and Out,
Penny Lane