We are capable of much more than we think. It often takes a bit of love, support, and a deadline to get out there.
Why I’m writing 30 articles in 30 days
The reasons behind my insanity
30 days.
30 articles.
It usually takes me a month of deliberation and procrastination to write one article.
How on earth will I write one every day?
Where will I get the ideas from?
How am I going to fit this in alongside everything else?
Why on earth am I doing this?
Let’s take a step back.
September 21st, 2020
I was scrolling on Facebook when a picture caught my eye: Mount Everest. The tallest mountain in the world. Tibetans call it Qomolangma, Goddess Mother of the World. The Nepali name for it is Sagarmatha, Goddess of the Sky. Regardless of what it’s been called, the difficulty, natural beauty, and history behind Everest have made the great mountain a household name.
I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Edmund Hillary, John Hunt and Nimms Purja, just a few of the adventurers and explorers who furthered humankind and showed that the impossible was possible.
I clicked on the image.
Everest Base Camp 2021 Challenge For Charity. Sign up now!
To climb to 5,364 metres, nearly the height of Mount Kilimanjaro, and do it for charity?
30 seconds later.
Thank you for signing up, we will be in touch.
Bang.
Excited with the prospect of visiting Nepal and stepping foot onto the tallest mountain in the world, I was about to embark on a journey of my dreams. I was about to join something much bigger than myself, much bigger than any goal of mine.
I was about to join a movement.
The choice
In the sign-up process, they gave us the choice between various charities, but there was one that caught my eye. This charity was not only taking preventative action and treating victims of a disease that affects over 5 million people a year, it aimed to eradicate the disease once and for all.
In only 9 years time.
The charity I chose was the Meningitis Research Foundation. Their goal: defeat Meningitis by 2030.
I want to help make that happen.
I joined paths with 29 other students and was shocked by their sheer warmth and kindness.
We forged friendships over Zoom and messenger and partook in socially distanced challenges: 300km running in 30 days, cycling 750km in 30 days, 5,000 squats in 30 days, to name but a few.
Amid uncertainty, solitude and difficulty, there was our group to give me support, our friendship to keep me motivated, our purpose to keep me focused and ready.
Fast forward to 29th March 2021.
- We have raised £34,525.
- It is day 12 of my 30-day article challenge to raise money for the Meningitis Research Foundation.
I have not run out of ideas. Yet. I was initially afraid that I would have no time to write and burn out. Indeed, despite my aim to finish each article in the morning, I often find myself leaving it until the evening. Like now.
Nevertheless, I have learnt that we are much more capable than we think we are: It often takes a deadline or pressure to just nudge us that bit further, to push us up just one more step. Without this group, I would not find myself calling companies for kit sponsorship or cycling horrendous distances. It’s things like this that anyone can do but just need a reason.
Exploring the greatest mountain on the planet.
Defeating Meningitis once and for all.
These are my reasons.
Thank you for reading about my journey so far. I would like to leave you with important information about Meningitis to keep you and everyone around you safe:
What is it:
Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges).
Facts:
- Meningitis is deadly: In fatal cases, it can kill in just a few hours. 1 in 10 people die from it.
- Meningitis can affect anyone. That includes healthy young adults. The disease can progress rapidly, killing an otherwise healthy individual in 24–48 hours.
- Students are some of the highest risk groups for contracting Meningitis. One in four 15 to 19-year-olds carry the meningococcal bacteria that can cause meningitis and septicaemia.
MRF funded research shows that carriage rates of meningococcal bacteria in university students, one of the high-risk groups for the disease, increase rapidly in the first week of term as students begin to socialise.
Symptoms:
Take 30 seconds to read more about this at https://www.meningitis.org/meningitis/check-symptoms
