AS I read about Jordan Romero’s successful ascent up Mount Everest last Friday, I was reminded of a recent conversation which struck me. "You cannot imagine what it’s like to feel old," grumbled a colleague in his familiar gruff way.
I suppose what he meant was, that feeling of invincibility of your 20s, when restless energy sweeps your body, and becomes a distant memory when the bones creak and the joints ache as your birthday cake struggles under the weight of almost 50 candles.
Maybe he’s right. After all, it’s a wonderful thing to be young. This past month has been a salute to youths and their spirit of adventure.
Jordan, in case you haven’t heard, is barely in his teens. The boy from California turns 14 in July. He’s also the youngest person in history to stand on top of the world.
On May 15, Australian Jessica Watson became the youngest individual to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world. Just three days after arriving in Sydney Harbour in her pink boat, she celebrated her 17th birthday.
Sixteen-year-old Jessica Watson waves as she sails past the finish line at the entrance to Sydney Harbour in Sydney. -- PHOTO: AP
Both feats have not been without controversy however. Critics have questioned the decision to allow Jordan’s climb (at his age he’s not even allowed to buy the video game Dead or Alive 4 without parental presence or consent in some stores back home).
Others meanwhile, have disputed the distance sailed by Jessica, arguing that her route did not total the requisite 21,600 nautical miles to give her the record.
There have also been allegations that her voyage was orchestrated, particularly her decision to delay her arrival home to maximise publicity, for commercial reasons. Some media reports state that the schoolgirl has book contracts and sponsorship deals worth hundreds of thousands lined up.
But that surely misses the point. What these teenagers have accomplished is more than just stamping their marks on the history books – already Jessica’s record is under threat by American Abby Sunderland who is five months younger and in the midst of her own solo attempt – it is a reminder that the exuberance of youth can remain undeterred by the cynicism of grown-ups.
As Jessica told the Australian crowd on her return after 210 days at sea: "People don’t think you’re capable of these things — they don’t realise what young people, what 16-year-olds and girls are capable of. I don’t consider myself a hero. I’m an ordinary girl who believed in her dream."
And what a beautiful experience it was for her. Out alone in the ocean, she savoured sunrises and shooting stars, studied passing blue whales. Yes, there were dangers (one vicious storm tossed her boat over at least four times) but the lack of adult supervision also offered a unique freedom for a young girl; she sang at the top of her lungs unabashedly with no audience to judge her and indulged in chocolate cupcakes baked in her tiny kitchen below.
Baked treats may have been missing when Jordan stood atop Everest, 8,848 metres above sea level. But the satisfaction was no less rewarding.
"It was a feeling like no other," he said. "I got the best view of the world."
Jordan Romero (centre) on a high after his record-setting Mount Everest feat. -- PHOTO: AP
Already, the entire planet would have heard of his remarkable tale of wanderlust. To witness this curly-haired boy – who was inspired by a painting of mountains in his school hall – almost touching the heavens, is to be similarly enamoured.
It rouses the senses of both young and old in the way Mark Twain once recommended: "So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."