HARSAL ATTAHIRZY

1. In Paragraph 1, Kelly talks about challenges—climbing mountains and

being sick—and says, “Of the two, of course, I’d rather the mountain be
my physical challenge than physical challenges be my ‘mountain.’” What
does this mean for Kelly?

Kelly considers mountains to be like life that can be seen as a series of difficulties that
she need to overcome. And, a mountain is the ultimate challenge, with body, spirit, and mind all
having to work together. For Kelly, this is also the case with the disease she is currently suffering
from, where both challenges involve bravely facing the unknown, and to conquer either requires
well-defined goals and discipline. And if she had to choose, Kelly would prefer to climb the
mountain as a physical challenge for her rather than her own illness which would be a challenge
to her life.

2. Kelly Perkins climbed mountains before and after her heart transplant.
Do you think the reasons for climbing mountains were different before
and after her transplant? Why or why not?

There is a difference from Kelly Perkins when climbing the mountain between before and
after heart transplant, namely her health and her mindset. Where before heart transplantation, her
status was only a patient. But after a heart transplant, she wanted to change her image as a
patient, she hated being a patient. She wanted bruises to be earned from sports-related activities,
not from needle pricks and aspirin-thinned blood. She could rebuild her strength and regain at
least some of her former athleticism, an improved image would naturally follow. And also
become an even stronger woman.

3. Do you think that people who do extreme sports would not be happy if
they didn’t continue to take risks? In other words, do you think they need
to take risks?

I fully agree that. Because they only feel this risks and taking happiness. although humans
actually have a natural mechanism for avoiding harm, the human brain is also equipped with an
"impact" mechanism that is activated in the face of extreme experiences. When someone takes
extreme action, the brain will release the hormone dopamine which creates feelings of optimism
and happiness. This kind of feeling becomes the impact of the extreme action that someone has
taken. The high levels of dopamine produced when doing extreme things gradually create a
feeling of comfort that often makes a person feel addicted. By experiencing things that are
dangerous or frightening, some people will feel a certain satisfaction. "I got through it" are the
usual thoughts that pop into the heads of extreme fans. This is what then boosts self-confidence
so that they are interested in continuing to do similar things, even at a higher level. Not only that,
doing life-threatening activities also makes people recognize or test their own limits.

4. Do you think people can change the way they perceive risk? Are there
certain situations or times in people’s lives when we perceive activities as
being more or less risky?

In my opinion, people can change the way they perceive risk. As someone gets older, they
will be able to tolerate the risks of the activities they do. Because according to research, the older
a person is, the lower his adrenaline level will be. For example, when a person is young, when he
wants to climb Mount Everest, he doesn't really think about the risks he will get later, as long as
he feels this is a challenging and fun activity for him, he will do it, he is not afraid of the risks.
However, when he got old, he wasn't as brave as when he was young. He will think more about
risks, especially his safety when he decides to climb Mount Everest. This is because his
adrenaline level has decreased. In my opinion, this is a situation where people can change the
way they perceive risk.