Summit 2018: Thursday
Thursday Morning:
I woke up at 3:30 AM. Thank the lord or whomever for my fiance, Max, because he’s the only reason I woke up. I think he attempted to wake me up about 10 times before I finally got out of bed (not always the best morning person).
Max dropped me off at the airport (we were late because, you know, sleep) with 35 minutes before my flight was going to take off.
I arrived at Columbus International Airport at around 7:30 AM, after only an hour and 20 minute flight. Man was that a breeze. Wait…BACK UP. I STARTED WRITING A BOOK ON THE PLANE!
I’ve wanted to write a book for as long as I can remember. I wrote poetry as a kid, like, intense poetry. One of my poems called, Forgotten, written at age 10, goes as follows:
“I can’t remember the last thing you said to me,
I was awakened in my mind,
But I’m still sleeping,
Dreaming.
I’ve forgotten your name and who you are,
I want to capture this picture floating in my head,
So I can remember myself laughing when you tickled my sides,
It’s snowing in my mind,
But it’s all turned to haze.
My vision’s gone blurry and I can’t see your face,
It’s all just a memory,
Never meant to be erased.
But now you’re forgotten. ”
Anyway, so I decided I wanted to write a book when I was a kid, but I never knew what about. I came to a realization a few months ago what exactly I wanted to write my first book about: Bipolar Disorder. I’ve been struggling with it so much for the past three years, that finally, I realized my stories about living with Bipolar are what I’m meant to share with the world.
Let’s rein it back in. Around 8:00 AM on Thursday, I joined Adam Schaeuble, Kunga Norbu and co. on their walk for Tibetan Freedom in Columbus, OH. The weather was perfect. I wore these new Sperry’s that I thought would be oh so trendy for my trip to Columbus, and boy was that a mistake. Those little @$%!’s cut up my heels like nobody’s business. It made walking incredibly painful for the upcoming days. However, not the point. I learned on this walk, that there are people who are within arms reach who do things for the sheer good of the world. They don’t have to be billionaires or millionaires to do good; they don’t have to be untouchable and unreachable. They are in our backyards, are our neighbors, even our friends.
I did about 3 miles of walking with this amazing group of people until I decided to stop (or my bloody heels decided to stop me). I walked to the closest hotel and promptly put on my stilettos, because those were shockingly more comfortable than the Sperry’s that cut up my heels. I grabbed some food from the nicest waiter at the Hilton Hotel in Short North. Some BOMB chicken and waffles. I immediately fell into a food coma and desperately needed a nap. Going on a long shot, I messaged as many people as I could think of who were already in Columbus for the Summit of Greatness, to see if I could nap at their AirBnB’s or apartments, not having ever met any of them before. Kind of hilariously weird. When an amazing woman named Kelly Wong replied, offering for me to take a nap at her AirBnB, I was truly grateful. I realized that there are people out there who will do something truly trusting and caring with no motive, other than just to help someone out. I then happily and painfully got to her place and took my nap, which takes us to Thursday afternoon.
Thursday Afternoon:
It was around 12:30 PM when Kelly and I met up with two other amazing women, Kelly McGuire and Olivia Lewis. Kelly and I got there a little late because, well, naps <3 (totally my fault). But we all talked for hours. We shared our goals, our reasons for attending Summit of Greatness, and our visions. We shared where we are at with our paths in life. I shared some intense thoughts and feelings about my past relationship, and my love for my current relationship with my wonderful fiance, soon to-be-husband, t-minus 8 days! I learned that complete strangers can come together and share intimacies with total trust in each other, when you know that you’re all there for similar reasons. I met some lovely girls on Thursday, whom I hope to stay connected with furthermore.
Our next adventure lead us to the Sheraton Hotel to register/check into the Summit of Greatness! We walked up to the ballroom together. The ballroom was packed with smiling individuals, each with his/her own radiating glow. And there was Lewis Howes. I was excited, to say the least. He was chatting among Summit attendees, looking ever so humble. I couldn’t wait for this event to start. Meeting Lewis was to come later, though I didn’t know it at the time. I remember a radiant feeling, being in a euphoric state, and the actual Summit hadn’t even started yet! After registering and getting my badge, etc, I met up with Kristen Alters and Alexandra Wynn, my two roomies for the AirBnB I reserved months ago. I adored these girls immediately. I didn’t yet know that our relationships would blossom.
Thursday Night:
Kristen, Alex and I gallivanted onward to the Summit Social event later on in the day. We chatted, grabbed some food and a drink. We chatted about real stuff. I recall thinking and eventually saying that I haven’t had real conversations like this over the span of a year, and here I was, spilling my heart out after knowing these girls for 2 hours. It was wonderful and refreshing.
Shortly thereafter, I met Lewis Howes. How cool was that. The week prior, he posted that he was excited to hug everyone, and I got a full body hug - oh yeah! Lewis thanked me for coming, and in my awkwardness, I replied “thank you for having me!” and said goodbye (lol). I look forward to slightly more invigorating conversation with Lewis next year.
The night ended with philosophical conversation between myself and more new friends at a local bar. We spoke about Speech Pathology, rehabilitation, and theories, among other things. I’d say it was a great day overall, with so much exuberance and love from all over.
“The strong bond of friendship is not always a balanced equation; friendship is not always about giving and taking in equal shares. Instead, friendship is grounded in a feeling that you know exactly who will be there for you when you need something, no matter what or when.”
- Simon Sinek
