Taking Steps and Gaining a New Perspective

“You must take the first step. The first steps will take some effort, maybe pain. But after that, everything that has to be done is real-life movement.” - Ben Stein

Amazing London views. You forget you're 280ft up.



St. Paul's Cathedral. Beautiful.

I took some major steps today. I took steps both figuratively, and literally. First the literal steps. After an amazing tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral given by Janet, our tour guide and Friend of St. Paul’s volunteer, I decided to join seven of my fellow classmates and walk the 500+ steps up to The Golden Gallery, or the highest point of access inside the Cathedral’s dome. The staircases varied from wide, wooden, low steps, to steep, narrow stone, to the final ascent up a series of wrought iron spiral staircases. As I climbed the final leg of the journey up those spirals, they seemed to get tighter and tighter.

I was reminded of a family trip to the Oregon coast town of Astoria several years ago where I climbed the spiral stairs of a lighthouse. On the climb down, I got my first – and definitely the worst - case of vertigo I have ever experienced. This is a very vivid memory for me, so as I climbed the steps at St. Paul’s, I was definitely anxious anticipating the climb down those winding stairs. I kept telling myself I wasn’t going to think about it. I was just going to climb down one step at a time, and I would be absolutely fine. You know what? I was right. I made it down with no problems and was totally proud of myself for making that climb in the first place. Let me tell you, the view? Amazing. All of London was stretched out before me: The Thames with The Millennium Bridge and London Bridge, The Globe Theatre, and even the London Eye in the distance. It was what I had been waiting for. That feeling. I finally felt something about being here. Like it finally hit me somehow. I was staring out history all around the city and it finally hit me how much I really want to be here and have these experiences. Yes, the first steps took effort, but had I not taken it or accepted that there was a possibility of pain or discomfort, I would have missed out on the experience of seeing such a unique view of London, and that was definitely real-life movement.