Growth

We all have moments in our lives that define us. They are the things that we look back and we think, wow, that helped make me the person I am today..

When I had one of my birthdays in China, I remember I decided, hey, I'm going to climb Mount Wudang for my birthday. I was turning 29, and it was going to be my last year there. I figured, what the heck?

I didn't take days off of training. On Wednesday, I went for our usual half day of performances where we showed Sifu whatever we've been working on. After performance, I packed my stuff up and I left. I hiked over night and I arrived for the sunrise at roughly 445am. I saw the milky way. I realized how easy it would be to just walk off of a cliff and I saw many people doing their pilgrimages up the mountain in the middle of the night. I was so sweaty, and I froze my butt off because on the top of the mountain in the sunrise, it's cold. The temperature always drops right after the sun comes up, and out comes the gusts of wind. I went for breakfast and then slowly, made my way back to the school. I decided to take the bus back, because I had class the following day.

I was reminded of this moment today. Sometimes experiences are inspired by others, and you just get to tag along. But the times where you inspire yourself, are always the most memorable. I had no one to share this memory with, but it remains fresh in my mind as a certain accomplishment that was inspired by me, and experienced by me alone.

There is power in learning to push and transform yourself.