Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Climbing the WALL

One year, when I was still an undergrad, I overcame my fear of heights (well, falling, actually) and climbed a rock wall. It was exhilarating, I loved it, and promptly forgot about it.

A few months ago, I visited my brother. He's a big fan of rockclimbing, so he took us to his climbing gym. We climbed for a while, and I really, really liked it. When I returned home, I promised myself that I would use the wall at my gym to climb more often.

Then I forgot about it.

Yesterday, I was at the gym with some time to kill until a fitness assessment. I had forgotten my ID, so by the time I made it back, the class I planned to attend had started. I played a game of racquetball with Lance, but then S. showed up to play with him, so I had to go find something to do for 20 minutes. Then I walked by the rock wall. So I went in and climbed it.

It was so much fun that after my fitness assessment, I went back and climbed some more. I can't explain why I--girl who is terrified of climbing tall ladders and is deeply afraid of falling off of things--really enjoy climbing. It's exhilarating--trying to figure out where to go next, keeping my grip on the rocks, planning my next move. And getting to the top. Even if I miss and "fall", I simply dangle there securely until I either try to grab back on or am lowered down.

I left the wall satisfied and content, knowing that I will be making regular time in the future to climb the wall.

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