Paris Brown has always dealt with performance anxiety—never more so than her qualifying round for American Ninja Warrior Season 9. She had an agonizingly heartbreaking fall off of the second obstacle on the course. And just like that her season was over. But her story didn’t end there. Paris got back up and continued training. She is now stronger than ever!
Read MoreMeet Melise: a climber and neuroscientist based out of Seattle, Washington.
Read MoreI wish I understood at an earlier age that your interests and passions are yours alone to choose. Don’t feel the need to fit perfectly inside a mold.
Read MoreI write because I know I'm not the only one feeling the way that I do. I write because “I’m not Black enough.” I write because I love the outdoors. I write because our voices deserve to be heard.
We wanted to create something to riff on that moment when you think you’re the “only one” but actually aren’t. And that is pretty much how Soy Sauce Nation was born.
Read MoreWhere the current pulled left, the water darkened. To my front and right, I could see slivers of light and air bubbles at the edges of the fishbowl’s rim. Water and air were being mixed and pushed downstream from the ledge. That must be where the real air is. At the surface.
Read More…Alex said, “hey, we should all go to Spain!” I was like, “I’ve never been, but sure, sounds great!”
Read MoreAnd each time I turned around I felt like a complete failure! Maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling me to pick another hobby. A safer hobby. A warmer hobby. In fact, each time I fail, I tend to go through the complete stages of grief. Seriously! I go through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and the hardest one, acceptance.
Read MoreI left my home country Oromia at the age of 12 and immigrated to the Pacific Northwest United States. After saving up enough money I finally went back home at the age of 21. In those years that I was away from home I dedicated my time to learning about the history, the landscape and the culture of Oromia. So when I finally purchased my plane ticket I made a list of all the places that I wanted to visit and one of the places that was on top of my list was the Sof Omar Caves.
Read MoreWhen I walk, climb, jump, and dive I feel like I am not only challenging myself, but paying homage to the people who have struggled so much to pave the way for my own existence, for my own success.
Read MoreWill was gaining on me. I turned back downstream and hit the gas. Several thoughts flashed through my mind. Good god, he’s fast! Followed immediately by Good god, I’m slow. Go Faster!
Read MoreThe more I explore the city’s natural surroundings, the more I realize how much the river—and not political pageantry—dominates the city’s landscape, its history, and its mood. All paths lead to the Potomac somehow.
Read MoreThe hypnotherapy made me brave enough to start obstacles, but I needed something to get me through the obstacles. For this, I scream like I’ve being cut up in tiny pieces with a dull knife.
Read MoreWe are in an ongoing fight for our collective imagination; that’s to say, we are in a constant battle for how we imagine things to be, reality or fiction aside. Fictional movies, dystopias and utopias; visuals on social media, music videos, and in art; the daily and nightly news; and even the written word are all in some way always affecting how we come to imagine the world to be, and so how we come to interact with it via our respective realities.
Read MoreFrom this point on things get significantly more strenuous. The down climb to saddle between peak 4 and peak 3 took half an hour and the highly exposed trek to the summit of peak 3 another forty minutes. At this point we were around 6 hours in to the traverse. The remaining 3 miles of the hike took another 11 hours of grueling routing finding and slow climbing.
Read MoreI feel like I've seen it all, candy wrappers, empty plastic water bottles, hair ties, socks, underwear, dog poop bags that are full and tied up for the poop fairy to pick up (there isn't one), and guess what else? New and used tampons and condoms! Yep, that's right!
Read More‘No where are you really from’ is a familiar question for Women of Color who are constantly asked to either prove our American-ness or explain our Other-ness when we really just want to sit-fly.
Read MoreI'm always excited to see the size and depth of the paddling community here in the NW and this years event didn't disappoint. That dinner line is harder to walk though than a family reunion. You see people stopping every few feet to catch up with friends, or jockeying a spot in line with a new one.
Read MoreThere’s something magic in the ocean, something calming, something magnetic. You don’t need to be an ocean swimmer or surfer to gain the benefits of that. You just need to get close and listen.
Read MoreI’ve purchased my flights and cleared my work schedule. This isn’t just another random vacation; today I’ve selected my next mountaineering objective. It’s no longer merely a lofty vision. There is a sense of palpability every time I glance at those chosen days on the calendar. This adventure that has captured my attention for years is coming nearer with each day. In these times of alpine anticipation, the wise will prepare and capture each valuable minute.
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