Rock Bottom to Peak
I’ll let you in on a little secret…
When I first moved to Hong Kong, I cried my eyes out. Everything was so different and consequently so difficult. That first week, I knew no one, had no cell phone, no credit card, no cable TV, no internet. I remember heading out to Causeway Bay one morning to buy a new blow dryer because my US one fried in HK electric outlet. I got on the wrong bus, got off the wrong stop, got lost (no phone and GPS!), battled through dense crowds, got lost on the way back, got in a taxi that kicked me out in the wrong neighborhood. By the time I got back to my tiny apartment, what seemed like an endless day turned out to be 3 hours. It was 1pm. I sobbed and wailed and cried for hours to the backdrop of some local HK drama, of which I could understand not a thing.
In one of the world’s most densely populated cities, I never felt so alone, so isolated, so lost. It was the peak (tying this back to the Peak, albeit loosely!) of my loneliness.
And then I realized — life isn’t about being safe and always feeling comfortable. The magic usually happens when you take a few risks. And in the process, you’ll make a few mistakes, maybe get your heart broken.
But f* it! Fall down, get back up to the next peak, slap your palm to your face a few times and keep going!