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“As I stood looking out at the view, the answer was so clear I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. Everest was not about me. I wasn't supposed to be doing it alone. I wasn't supposed to be scaling mountains and staking my flag at their peaks like some modern-day conquistadora. It was about what I had to offer, what I had to give to a community--to women, to girls, like me. I had to keep my promise to climb Everest, but I was supposed to bring others with me. Other women like me. Survivors. That had been the message all along.” — Silvia Vasquez-Lavado
As I stood looking out at the view, the answer was so clear I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. Everest was not about me. I wasn't supposed to be doing it alone. I wasn't supposed to be scaling mountains and staking my flag at their peaks like some modern-day conquistadora. It was about what I had to offer, what I had to give to a community--to women, to girls, like me. I had to keep my promise to climb Everest, but I was supposed to bring others with me. Other women like me. Survivors. That had been the message all along.