I wish I were home, I thought, as I looked over the stone walls once more at the endless forest stretching several feet below me. Sweat starts dripping down my forehead as the realization of how high I am finally starts to sink in. I’ve always had an extreme fear of heights, so why did I think I was brave enough to currently be hundreds of feet high trekking towards one of the tallest checkpoints up the Great Wall of China?

As I shuffle up the steps one by one, I realize I’m close to the top as the air gets thinner and my legs get more weary. I lean against one of the walls and start whispering to myself frantically “I’m the boss, I’m the boss, I’m the boss.” Squeezing my eyes shut, I decide that it’s better to get this over with quickly, so I summon the rest of my dwindling energy to reach the end of the stairs as fast as I can. As I rushed forwards, I caught a glimpse of the people far below, who appeared as dots. My uplifting words ended up serving no purpose, as they instantly turned into incoherent pleas for the journey to end. I start to get nauseous.

When I reached the checkpoint, I saw a scene so stunning, I genuinely believed I was looking at a fake painting. A powdery blue sky rose above a lush forest colored in bright emerald green stretching endlessly towards the horizon. My frantic thoughts left as soon as they came as I relished every moment of this sudden change.

When I looked over the ledge and took everything in, I immediately wished to go right back to the start and walk the entire mile again. Even now, there hasn’t been anything that could compare to the view I saw. Adrenaline and awe filled me up from head to toe and I couldn’t even remember why I was so afraid in the first place.

This story is one of many I’ve had throughout my life while being able to travel around the world. One aspect that I believe makes up a large part of who I am is my desire to travel and to experience new things. Regardless of where I’ve been and where I will go, I’ll always look forward to exploring new places and experiencing new things I’ll never forget.