Well, I’m not going to sugarcoat my answers to these questions and won’t be giving a cliché answer either, but I promise to be honest and cordial. So here it goes: Mount Kilimanjaro was never on my to-do- list. Traveling and experiencing the naked world is. Kilimanjaro simply ticked all my adventure boxes. Doing it for an honorable charity cause was just the icing on the cake.

If there’s a level below beginner, that’s where I am. Back in the summer of 2015, I hiked a three-hour mountain in Spain. I was so proud of myself; it was literally the highlight of my year. So you can imagine how Kilimanjaro was really pushing the edges of my comfort zone.

How many swear words are you allowed to publish in your magazine? None? Then let’s just say it was “hard”. Way harder than I expected. Exceeded my expectations, limitations and imagination. But there was a sliver lining (as is the case in everything in life): those happy moments of laughter, dancing and being goofy, those unbelievable sunrises and sunsets and those morning cups of hot chocolate. Made it all worth it.

My most memorable moment was on summit day at 8 AM, at the last stretch between Stella Point and Uhuru Point. I had already been hiking for ten painful hours, enduring the altitude symptoms— my heart was racing, it was hard to breathe. Some of my teammates were already on their way back down, encouraging me and hugging me, telling me things like “You’re so close, you’re only ten minutes away,” and “Keep going, you’ve got fifteen minute tops to go.” That was a lie. It was the longest hour in my life, but if it weren’t for those hugs and encouraging words, I probably wouldn’t have made it to the top.

The hardest part was losing two toenails in the process. My feet where bloated, sore and painful to touch. The silver lining: wearing open toe sandals, waiting for people to ask me about my blackish purplish toes and answering casually: “Yeah, what, those? I climbed Kilimanjaro, no biggie.” And if you are an attention seeker like I am, those few seconds of admiration will be like living the dream. Flaunt those disgusting toes my friends, flaunt them!

Again, no sugarcoating here. To be completely honest, and as cocky as this will sound, I never doubted that I’d make it to the summit because I’ve exposed myself to several challenging situations that made me aware of my strengths and weaknesses. It was just a matter of working on them and improving myself. Was it a humbling experience? Absolutely! Self-worth and self-confidence status? Through the roof!

After the climb, I was telling some of my students about the experience (for purely show-off purposes). Then, one of them asked me, “But why do people climb mountains for a cause? Can’t they just raise awareness where they are?” And that’s when it hit me. Climbing a mountain for a cause raises awareness, of course. It’s also about recruiting us, the climbers, to fight for the cause. If I’m going to put myself through this rigorous experience, then I really do believe in this cause. When I come back, I’m already involved. I’m personally invested. I’m more dedicated to the children of divorce because of what I’ve been through.

If you’ve never climbed a mountain, I would advise you to follow a set fitness plan and be psychologically prepared to do it. Be prepared to hate yourself at first but then love yourself for accomplishing your goal. Most importantly, choose your climb-mates well; they will be forever your family.