Life Brings Writing, Writing Brings Life.
I would’ve never told you I wanted to be a writer.
Even though I have definitely dreamed of that my whole life. When I was a kid, I had a desk in my room (my mother hated desks, so it was a special thing that I could have one) and I would stay up as late as I could on school nights, bent over lined paper, crafting something I would never show to anyone ever. I proclaimed to my junior year English class that I started a novel. I journaled tirelessly every day. I had a concentration in creative writing in college.
For some, having a dream is very clear. It’s easy to become dedicated to following the path. There are pains and trials that come up, and the person perseveres. For others, life is chaos, and navigating it proves to be difficult pain and trial. I embraced life as a chaotic bundle of energy. I was very distracted and chaotic because I wanted to see the world.
Dreams are also fragile in the beginning stages. I squandered every attempt I made at writing. “This is fine, but it’s not good enough.” I expected to exude perfection on the first attempt, and got discouraged when that didn’t happen. So many ideas crushed by low self-esteem and adults telling me that writing wasn’t a viable career. I gave up my dream. I didn’t understand anything about the world, mostly because I felt trapped and limited by my small state of Connecticut.
I became spiteful as I had one very loud thought in my head, louder than the rest, saying, “You haven’t done anything of note, Therese-Marie.” This voice shamed me until I used it as motivation to start my very first grand adventure.
The blog got its origins in 2017 when I decided to attempt a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.
With no prior camping experience. I guess that’s what happens when you hold yourself back for so many years. You go do something insane.
The hike lead me down many strange career paths, which proves to be fun and exciting. I never know where I’ll end up next. And throughout all of that, I finally had the courage to share my writing. It was a tumultuous process, but it helped a lot that I found my place in the outdoor community.
While I was hiking, I got the trail name Little Wing. Everyone misheard me when I introduced myself, though, and they thought I was saying “Lil Wayne.” This was unavoidable, and hilarious. Since I have no intention of stealing the namesake of a trailblazer in the rap world, I’ve evolved to become just Lil.
Over the years, this site has transformed into a platform for storytelling, and it’s seeing more changes every year. Its foundations are in hiking, but it’s evolved to include big and small adventures, many incomplete plans (that had good intentions, but never reached the finish line), publications, and collaborations.
And there’s so much more I hope it becomes.
So, thank you for coming along for the ride. It means more when we go along this path together.
Fly on, friends.
Therese M! (Lil)
“When I go from hence, let this be my parting word: that all I have seen is unsurpassable.”
–
Therese Marie 