His mother’s voice echoed in his head with each step he climbed. “You’re essentially abandoning me, you know that? You’re abandoning your mother. Who does that?”

Mature independent adults, he answered firmly in his head. Why couldn’t I say it to her face? He sighed, gritted his teeth, and pushed his legs forward. Just another step, he thought as his legs protested and his mother’s voice continued to echo in his head. No matter how hard he’s tried to block out her whiny nasally voice, it seemed to only grew louder, as if his mother had hitched along in the comfort of his head.

All his life, he felt like he was doing what others wanted him to do, particularly his mother. Do this, do that, he’s done all that, but it’s only left him wanting more. He wanted to know what he liked, his favorite color, what he liked to eat, what he wanted to do outside work, who he is. He didn’t know why he chose the mountain but it was calling to him. So there he was, heading toward the peak on a journey of self-discovery.

Whatdoyousee