Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Quote: Three Cups of Tea

Mortenson is reflecting about climbing his first mountain with his father, he says ““Ever since I was six, I’d been staring at the summit and begging my father to take me there.” Finally, when Dempsey deemed his son old enough to make the climb, rather than enjoying his trip to the top of Africa, Greg says, “I gagged and puked my way up Kilimanjaro. I hated the climb. But standing on the summit at dawn, seeing the sweep of African savannah below me, hooked me forever on climbing.””

I picked this quote because it shows us that even when you're in a rough situation and going through something that may be really hard if you stick to it and don't give up, in the end it will all be worth it. He talks about how he "gagged and puked my way up Kilimanjaro", if that were me I would have stopped right then and there. But he kept going and realized at the end how amazing it all was. Mortenson talks about in the book a lot so far about pursuing meaningful dreams, he talks about wanting to put his sisters necklace on the summit of K2, and building a school in Pakistan, so for him to reflect on his first climb and talk about how hard it was along the way, to me is really cool. It just adds to his story and shows to never give up.

2 comments:

  1. I agree that the gagging and puking would have made me want to stop climbing mountains forever. Kowing that he didnt and he endured that makes Mortensen seem like a very strong-willed person which is later reflected in his future actions

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  2. This is very true. The character qualtiy that Mortenson seems to have is shown right here. I think it says a lot about his father too, how he pushed him to try things that he has never done before. The only way we will ever grow as individuals is if we strech ourselves. How much easier is it to just live in a box and love your comfort zone? I don't think this will be the last time we will see him do something extraordinary!

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