Make me Proud Writing Prompt Week 2





 



In 2012 I started to face some very inconvenient truths. I dealt with this stress by walking.  One day, I found out that the local high school track was open to the public. As I was walking the track and doing a circuit in the bleachers, someone approached me about a team that they had formed. The team was going to do something called “Sky Rise Chicago.” The goal was to get to the top of the Willis Tower climbing 103 stories. 2,109 steps. Once you got to the top, you were to go out and take photos on the glass ledge. I didn’t know much about the ledge,  and I only knew Willis Tower as Sears Tower. I am deathly afraid of heights. The idea of standing out on a piece of glass surrounding the city terrified me. So I was in! 


Through the summer,  I got together with the team to climb stairs at several local spots and started participating in 5K races (walking of course) I was slow, but my goal was never to win, just to finish. I later found out that the Willis Tower Skyrise Chicago event was for charity.  It was raising money for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. They helped individuals with prosthetics for missing limbs. My daughter had a friend that had recently given birth to a child that was born with no arms. I set a fundraising goal of $500. Friends and family pitched in, and I reached my goal.  


I trained for months. Our team was featured on the local news, I lost some weight, and was inspired. I was ecstatic when I made it to the top....UNTIL I saw the ledge. It was TERRIFYING.  I immediately told myself that it was not necessary to take the notorious ledge photo.  


As I turned to walk away,  I saw that a young girl, a child of one of my teammates who had also made the climb,  was refusing to go out on the ledge.  I heard her say “Alisha’s not going!”  That was all it took.  I challenged her by saying if I went out for my pic, she’d go out for hers!  She agreed. Terrified, I slapped on a smile, tried to ignore my heart beating in my eardrums, and stepped out on faith.  The result is the photo you see.  


In that moment I knew that I was living in my purpose. I looked at some thing that terrified me and I did it anyway. Not only did I do it, but I inspired someone else to be brave as well. I truly believe that is why I’m here. I am supposed to inspire others. Even when what I need to do to BE that inspiration terrifies me. 


 

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