Genevieve O’Hara
My father grew up in the Philippines and my mother in Alberta, the flat French Prairies. Mountains were not an area of expertise or desirable destination for my family. So, although I grew up in BC my exposure to our magnificent Rockies was severely limited. My tropical father had never seen snow until he was 25, and my mother was, and still undoubtedly is terrified of heights. My passion for the mountains and the outdoors is something that I have nurtured completely on my own.
Growing up, I’ve always associated fitness and health with the gym and playing on team sports. I tried out every sport available to me, basketball being my favorite. When studying at University, I competed on the Varsity rowing team and ran half marathons in my spare time. I thought to myself, if I ever wanted to achieve the ultimate fitness level, I needed to have abs and compete on an elite team. Well I achieved one of those two (sorry abs). I felt like I was on top of my game and life was good.
The summer of my second to last senior year of rowing, I got into a car accident before Western Championships. My partner and I had trained all year long and were excited to take our year of hard work and hopefully win a race. The car accident injured my neck on both sides. This meant treating each side differently. I had to go through months of physio, loosing my spot on the team and feeling incredibly depressed. All my life I have always been an active person. I went from training six days a week to doing nothing. I felt lost, and really questioned my self-identity. After almost a year of recovery, I never went back to rowing and in that year, I turned to the outdoors and learned a lot of myself. Despite my zealous commitment to fitness and achieving that “elite” status, I have never felt the same happiness as I do when I am simply rock climbing, backpacking and being outside. I’ve realized that my idea of fitness and health had evolved into something larger.
I haven’t competed on a team for years now, and I am the healthiest and happiest I have ever been. I can truly say that my love for the outdoors is my medicine. Today, what I find the most challenging and rewarding are my outdoor adventures. I have been at my lowest and my highest (literally) either dangling off a cliff or camping on top of a peak. I have had the deepest thoughts and ideas, the rawest conversations with a 60-pound pack on my back for endless kilometers. I’ve come to understand that people find clarity and peace in the most unusual situations.
For the longest time the thought of the car accident and recovery was too painful. Sometimes it still brings me down. Looking back on that year now, I wouldn’t have changed anything. It’s amazing how much you can change your mindset in a short amount of time. I find it interesting how fitness and health can seem so simple, yet incredibly complex. It’s definitely a journey, sometimes wild and unpredictable and I’ve learned to embrace change and to find your medicine.
Sincerely,
Genevieve O’Hara.
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