As a middle school student, I was spellbound not just by Everest’s peak, but by the people who climb it. Far from exclusive, Everest has been summited by:

• Double amputees 

• Cancer survivors, domestic abuse survivors 

  • Climbers with no arms, with no legs, plump housewives, fully blind mountaineers, overweight individuals, and the elderly in their 70s and 80s  

There is no single face of Everest. No particular color, body type, background. Everest proves that determination knows no bounds.

A childhood dream whispered inside me long after I left middle school . And one day, as I held my dream of getting into UCLA it struck me:

That is my mountain.

Everest is grand, but so is getting into one of the world’s top universities with sheer girth and  determination

These are our personal summits. And the truth:

Everybody you meet is climbing a mountain—one you can’t see, it could be like mine getting into a good college, it could be raising a special needs child or battling cancer or an addiction 

Lessons We Learn from the Climbers

1. We aren’t defined by our challenges, but by how we climb them.

2. Our mountains matter—they deserve empathy, strength, compassion.

3. Every climber who reached the top shows us: you don’t need a perfect form, just courage and resilience. 

We Are All Climbers

Mountaintops may be snow‑capped or hidden in everyday life. Whether you’re parenting a difficult child, surviving illness, mending a broken heart, wanting to get into a university where you realistically don’t stand a chance , you are on an ascent too.

Let that thought shift how you see yourself and others:

• Every mountain is real.

• Every struggle is noble.

• And every summit, no matter how small is a triumph deserving celebration.

So go on, respect your climb. Hold hope for others as they climb theirs. Because we are all Everest climbers in our own lives.