Dreams vs risks

By Whitney

Dreams vs Risks

Photo credit: abbysunderland on flickr

16-year old Abby Sunderland was recently rescued from the middle of the Indian Ocean after storms wreaked havoc on the boat she was sailing in a solo journey around the world. As media attention turned toward her parents (Abby herself is still on a rescue boat at the time of this writing), they were put in a position to defend themselves.
Stating that Abby was well-prepared for the trip, having proved herself on practice runs in challenging conditions, her father appeared confident that his choice to allow her to take the risky voyage was a reasonable one. Her mother described Abby’s love of sailing fast and facing challenges.

Not long before this teenager made headlines with her sailing adventure, a boy of 13 climbed Mt. Everest, becoming the youngest climber to ever reach the peak. Like Abby Sunderland, the climber, Jordan Romero, has a dream he is chasing. He wants to climb the highest peaks in every continent, inspired by a mural in the hallway of his middle school. The Everest climb has extreme conditions and more than one hundred climbers have died during their attempt, making Jordan’s accomplishment even more thrilling.
Since I don’t yet have a teenager, I’m not able to pass judgment on the parents. Did you follow these stories? Would you allow your teenager to follow a dream that includes life-threatening conditions?