The cold air whipped around my body and I was grateful for the extra layers. Puffs of smoke lifted in the sky after every breath the cold hitting my throat and chilling my teeth. The humming off the snow mobiles and the wind were the loudest noises. A gust of wind came by picking up snow making in spin in the air like it was dancing. Other winds came by pushing the snow creating new mounds, dips and peeks reshaping the land before my eyes. In the distance were little black specks running back and forth. Little penguins too far to see, but I smiled at getting a peek of their secret lives.

The team was waiting by the snowmobiles waiting for me to return and continue our journey.

“I will be there in a minute!”

The shouting hurt, but that was the only way they would hear me. This flat land with no human interference had winds that were sharp and wailed through the lands. A tear fell down my cheek wiping it away before the little water molecule could freeze. I was finally here and soon we would be to the glaciers by the Arctic Ocean and I was going to climb them. There would be no medals for me as I am not the first one to accomplish this feat. I was dying and this was on my bucket list and with the help of friends and some complete strangers my goal was in reach.

Life can be funny at times and I found in dying how wonderful life can be. I was ready to live and prepared to die.