• It was cold, windy, and damp up on that mountain. A storm was blowing in. I knew it because I could see the slowly churning clouds coming nearer and nearer. I also knew that it was a bad idea to be there at that particular time and in that particular place, but I really didn’t care. After all I had been through, who would? A little cold would never hurt anyone. Besides, I really needed to see the view, breathe in that fresh air. I needed to clear my head, and sitting in that cramped little room of mine just wasn’t cutting it.

    I was tired of being pushed around. I was tired of everything in every situation going as absolutely horrible as it possibly could. Most of all, though, I was sick and tired of being so helpless about it all. I couldn’t change anything. All I could do was sit back and watch it all play out. But I hate that. I hate feeling helpless when others need me the most. But there was nothing that I could do to change that inevitable outcome.

    As I stood there, my toes peaking over the edge of the mountain, I came up with a New Years resolution that I vowed to make come true. This wasn’t going to be one of those cheesy things you joke about when you’re talking to your friends. No, this was serious. I was serious.

    One of these days, I was going to do something important. I was going to do some real good for the world, even if I only managed to help one person. As long as I could do that, maybe one less person would suffer through the same things I had. Even doing something so small as that was success in my eyes.

    But I needed help, and I was going to scrounge up the nerve to ask for it, for once. I was not going to chicken out this time.

    So with that in mind, I took a deep breath, spread my arms out wide, and took a leap of faith. Whether the dark, unknown waters below caught me or not was up to them, but I wasn’t going to worry.

    Not this time.