Dear Reader,

Last year in May, I visited Rome with my family. One afternoon, we had just dismounted from the subway train, and we had to wait in the queue to reach the stairs that led to the exit. Finally, we turned around the corner and saw something that surprised us: the long line was caused by everyone wanting to get up the escalator, while the other stairs were left, quite literally, still.

We decided without hesitation to climb on our own strength, and I was so happy that even the kids agreed to take that path despite being tired from walking for 20+ kilometres and having sore feet.

Step after step, I understood why it felt so good to be almost alone on the stairs: the sense of “being different” (good or bad that it is, I always feel good when I can be different from the majority without hurting anyone) and the small ephemeral pride given by taking my course into my own hands.

At each step, I tried to devise a different word that would inform us about where those small steps were taking me, my wife, and my kids: independence, character, force of will, strength, control over our bodies, and originality.

I can only hope those few steps will inspire us every day for years. Still, I wonder if we will remember the exact moment: as for any behaviour that you want to foster, you need strategies to turn it into a habit or routine.

Until next time, I will try to take the stars more often: I may not get wiser, but I may get thinner. Anyway, it’s worth a try!

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”

Sir Edmund Hillary