“Unearthing Resilience: Amanda K. Jaros’s Epic Journey Along the Appalachian Trail Reveals Life Lessons Beyond the Trek”
That moment comes when Jaros injures her knee. She asserts:
I couldn’t wait here for someone to save me. I had to move. I had to save myself (28).
Jaros does not share her internal experience with the reader and instead externalizes her struggle. She does not reflect on how she arrives at the decision to keep moving—she simply meets urgency with action. After regaining her footing, finding the blaze, and limping her way to safety, there is no grand realization—only a single, stark declaration:
