Month: March 2017

Of the 32, exchange students from all over the world, I was 1 of only 4 people that hadn’t made it to the top. Upon reaching base, I was determined to change the situation. I wasn’t about to return home, empty-handed. Sure I was embarrassed but I simply had to choose what I now know as success beyond success. I had to stay true to how I played the game. So what if I couldn’t climb the rock? I could walk around it. Right? And that’s exactly what I did. All 9.4 kilometers of it. In sweltering heat. And in steadfast, resolute faith.

I was a teenager. I’d never traveled outside my country before. And certainly never been on a plane. And I’d just been chosen to travel as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student. To Australia. To the land of Sir Donald Bradman, Allan, Border, and the legendary Richie Benaud.