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I could feel myself going short of breath and the gravity pulling me down, as I climbed the hill. "Hiking can be a very difficult experience for the first timers, particularly for girls like you", said one of the hikers who was right behind me. I just smiled at him, turned away and took a deep breath. Surrounded by the lush green valleys and the hills hidden by the misty clouds, I had no plans of giving up. "I have to do this..I have come this far, all by myself for this..I have to go", I whispered to myself, gathering all the strength to carry my weak and tiring body forward. But I just couldn't move any further. I sat down on the soft green grass, and dug into my backpack for the water bottle, only to find it empty. I felt lonely and lost, helpless and tired- and started feeling that everything they told about the problems of a girl travelling alone, was true. I have never been anywhere alone, without my family tag attached. Its not that travelling with your parents and siblings is boring, but for a young adult who has developed the passion for exploring the unknown, meeting new people and understanding how life works out, there is always a constant itch to get out and see the world for themselves. "This is not London or America" rebuked my mother, when I spoke to her about me planning a solo trip to a place, just a few miles away from my home. "A girl can never travel to and fro her workplace in this country peacefully even with people around her in broad daylight, let alone solo travelling!" she remarked, like any other Desi parent would do, considering the everyday incidents of young girls in India being attacked, raped and burnt alive. People have a habit of generalizing and relating to every incident they come to know, and live with the fear of themselves being affected by the same misfortunes. "Does that mean the Indian girls have to be kept locked indoors? Don't we have any freedom to move around?" I snapped back at her, only to receive some serious scoldings and the usual "Go get a job, leave this place and go wherever you want" kind of dialogues. Luckily I had the permission to go out with friends for meet ups or class assignments, on the condition of being back home before it gets dark. When I had a glance at my watch, I realized that I was running out of time and had to move fast. The short rest and deep breathing had calmed me down a little, and I got up, dusted off the dirt and continued my hike, imagining myself being one of those travel vloggers I follow on Instagram. I stopped now and then to click pictures of the scenic beauty of Ponmudi, but made sure that I acted fast, so as not to miss my last train home. The Ponmudi hill station is near the place I live, whose name I had been hearing for ages, so close to me yet unexplored. When one of my friends was narrating her experience of visiting the place, I could no longer resist the temptation to go out and visit Ponmudi for myself. I decided to go. I decided to take that leap, without telling anyone. The following week, I found myself gathering the courage to take a local bus, travelling with strange old men, encountering the suspicious eyes of the bus conductor and the local police on finding a young girl travelling unaccompanied. I could hear my heart thumping- half out of fear and half out of excitement, and the initial fear and unfamiliarity of travelling alone started fading as I neared the destination. "It is true that one experiences a kind of Dejavu, when they visit the place they had been dreaming of, for a great deal of time" I thought, as I was being welcomed by the mountain flowers, wild orchards and the butterflies. I realized that I have walked up a long way that I could no longer see the hills. I have conquered the hills.