I guess I should tell you about the first time I climbed a mountain.  Before I do though I should also mention I have used the analogy of climbing a mountain for all the little bumps I have gone through in my life.  I had absolutely no idea what it actually meant to climb a mountain, but I figured it had to be pretty rough.  I quickly learned that 'pretty rough' was a very nice way of putting it.  If I had really known what it meant to climb a mountain I probably would not have said "I have a mountain of work to do" when describing the 5 page paper and the 2 tests I had in the same week in college.
 
The idea to climb Mount Bierstadt came a week after a group from Arrupe had decided to take on the hike.  The Regis Jesuit Alum Service Corps community figured we could take on the mountain that rises to an elevation of 14,065 feet, officially making it one of Colorado's 53 "fourteeners."

The trek started off simple enough, walking past a beautiful lake and going on a trail with a slight incline.  Once the incline took us higher, the air started to become thinner.  When we passed the tree line, I knew we had to breathe deep to get some oxygen.  As we went up the path, I kept looking up to the highest point I could see.  I had realized this was not the top of Bierstadt, but rather it was a false summit and even more of the mountain lay beyond that.  The false summit became my goal, and when we reached it we sat in the grass and looked up toward the peak of the mountain.  The distance looked like double what we had already traveled and with an even steeper slope.  The real challenge and climb had begun.

In each step I took, I told myself this is the highest I have ever been. Every ten steps my lungs and legs would tell me to stop.  It was during these breaks, these many, many breaks, that I would look around at the beauty and awesomeness that surrounded me.  I could see for miles and was amazed at the magnificence of the giants I stood by.  One of the greatest parts of the climb was that I never felt I could not finish.  I realized I needed the breaks, but the mountain kept pushing me up to its top.

I am going to use the analogy of climbing a mountain once again, this time I'm using it to describe the month leading up to the first day of teaching.  Between ASC boot camp and faculty meetings at Regis Jesuit I felt I had my first day of class covered.  I felt prepared and ready.  But the first day became the false summit.  I had been working toward that one day, and in reality I had a whole year.  But like Bierstadt I feel like I am being pushed to something higher, and I am constantly looking around at the beauty of the experience I am having.

I am continually experiencing amazing things on this journey I am on.  Both from the students I'm surrounded by and the mountains.  Just this past weekend I have seen a group of young 'Rowdies' keep a crowd of students energized for an entire football game.  The very next day I went into the mountains and really understood what Katherine Lee Bates meant when she wrote "for purple mountains majesties." As the sun set and I saw the mountains change to a dark purple. I am so excited and look forward to all the experiences I will encounter on this adventure as an ASC.