If you have been on my social media feed the past couple of weeks, you may have seen that I made the trek up to Everest Base Camp (EBC) over the holidays. There is so much to cover over the course of the 12 day round trip trek that I will be writing several installments in an attempt to share as many details as possible.

Trekking to EBC was never initially on my “bucket list.” I used to think it was so out of reach, both physically and financially. But the opportunity presented itself at the right time and I decided to go for it.

To give you an appreciation of the journey, I’ll start by giving a little bit of background history of my humble beginnings. I had two teachers from high school who wrote to me personally to not only congratulate me on my accomplishment, but also how proud they were that a student from my high school was able to trek to EBC.

The neighborhood I grew up in was and still is very much a blue collar community, full of hard working parents that want nothing more than better lives for their children.  Kids in our high school weren’t born with silver spoons in their mouths. In fact, if we wanted something, we had to work for it. Most had part time jobs, beat up cars, and fortunate to go to college or some form of post-secondary education.

My high school had a day care, to which a good portion of the children in the day care belonged to the students. As students progressed through high school, the rate of pregnancies and drop outs grew. I remember classmates who had never left the State of Kansas let alone step foot on an airplane. Trekking to EBC would’ve been as farfetched as going to the moon.

I was fortunate enough to have parents that made sure my brother and I went to college and encouraged us to travel. Both parents grew up from extremely poor families, who all bettered their situation through education. We went to Thailand a handful of times as kids, seeing first hand how they used to live. No central A/C, no modern plumbing, sleeping on mats on wood floors, squatty pottys.

When I decided to book my trek to EBC, I had no idea the enormity of what I was about to take on. Living in Colorado, you could probably count on a few hands how many people you know who’ve made the trek. I was reminded by my old high school basketball coach of the number of people who have completed an IRONMAN and made it to EBC from my high school…just one.

So while my initial intention for this trip was to have an experience of a lifetime, I hope my journey inspires those who dare go after what once may have seemed impossible.