Summary: I am a person who loves new things. I'm getting older, but I still love trying new things, and I hope that's something that always stays with me. Every time I try to accomplish something new, the first thing I do is read the stories of the people who have done whatever it is before I have. Years ago, I decided that I would run a marathon. So I obsessively read books, blogs, magazines, anything I could get my hands or eyes on that would tell me exactly what it was like to run a marathon, and so that I could read stories about other moms with kids, people with disabilities, all kinds of people, who have run marathons. I recently did my first section hike on the Appalachian Trail, so I looked up all kinds of information about it. I talked to people who had hiked it. I read a book about a man who was blind that hiked the whole thing with his dog. I wanted to hear all the stories, so that I was prepared for what it might be like. I even did this recently with Disney World. My family was going to Disney World for spring break, and my daughter and I were going to go to the parks for the first time in years. I read stories from people who had been recently, looked at their experiences, and tried to learn which rides were best to go to first, and which restaurants needed reservations. Here's my hint...all of them. It sounds a little crazy, but I don't regret any of this. It's true that the only way to truly know what something is like is to experience it, and that's true with all of those things, but I love hearing other people's stories, especially people who have obstacles to overcome. It's really helpful to me to hear about how they persevered when it was time to stand in line for Space Mountain, or to push through miles 20 and 21 of a marathon, or how to set up camp when you're cold, tired, and hungry. I like surrounding myself with stories of people who accomplished more than I can ever dream of, so that I can take just one more step.
