Where I'm From

I am from the Middle East,
From deserts and ruins.

I am from the heavily guarded house, with four different guards and spikes surrounding.
From the smoke, who's scent has come from far off in the distance.

I am from the small patch of grass,
The oasis between the sand.

I am from the Colombian groups and Bolivian friends.

From being able to do anything,
And from being cut from the soccer team.

I am from the catholic family,
The family that goes to church once every two years.

I'm from Colombians,
And a long family tree painted with yellow, blue, and red leaves.
But I'm from kebabs and shawermas.

From the time my sister fell off a camel,
The time my dad rolled down a sand dune,
And the time we watched shooting stars deep into the night, on top of the orange boulder, listening to the howls of the coyotes.

I am from those moments.
A latin tree cast into the East.
Where I am from is not where my sprout emerged from the ground, but where my branches reached out to the world.

Book Review: Left for Dead

Beck Weathers titled his book “Left for Dead” mostly because on his expedition to Everest, he was literally left for dead. After being found and left on the cold ground with his dead friend, he got up as “a dead man walking” and stumbled back into camp. Although the title had a literal aspect, this event was reflected on his relationship with his wife and kids.

This memoir is about Beck Weathers, a middle-aged man trying to find a distraction from his suicidal thoughts. That is why Beck turned to mountain climbing. And although this was a way to keep him from killing himself, it was also tearing him apart from his family.
This book is put into several forms. It ranges from his encounters on Everest and his present tense thoughts. There are also parts where the people in the memoir write, such as his wife, the person who saved him, etc.

In his memoir, Beck realizes that he really does want to live, and that he has so much to live for. This memoir is Beck’s revival. Much like most details in this book, his revival can be related to his encounter on Everest and in his personal life.

This book would be recommendable to mountaineers, but not to those looking for a meaningful book that captivates them. To me, this book was slow and, even though I could relate to some of the places he went in Nepal, (e.g. The Ciwek Clinic.)it was also uninteresting.

Lines We Love:
“I had a lot of class, all of it low.” This was referring to how he acted around his family before his realization.