When I climb, I can’t think straight, probably because I’m trying to climb higher and reach the top of the climbing wall without falling. Funny, because I have a climbing harness on me anyways. I don’t know why, but I know that if I reach the top, I’ll be satisfied with myself as I descend the wall. If I don’t reach the top, the attempt was wasted by not beating my personal best or at least achieving the same. But I wasn’t always like that.
My first time climbing was when I was 9. I had never climbed before. The minimum age to climb was 8, and I didn’t get the chance to do climbing camp the previous summer. You can imagine how I felt, being able to climb for the first time.
When I walked into the first climbing session, I was excited. We learnt the fundamentals and did bouldering before we started climbing. As I put on my harness, I watched a camper fail to climb the wall twice, then succeed the third time. I thought to myself: That looks easy, I should be able to do that too.
But as soon as I got on the climbing wall, I felt terrified. I no longer wanted to climb. I was too short to grasp the best handholds, so I had to hold on to the tiny little ones, shaking and slipping. The thing that kept me going was my counsellor, who was belaying me. I kept asking her: “Can I come down yet?” and she would reply, “As soon as you climb up to the big handhold up there, about 10 feet above you”.
So I struggled, but I kept climbing, slowly but surely. As soon as my hand grasped the handhold, I would ask again: “Can I come down now?” and she would say: Nope. You can come down when you get your whole body above the handhold.
Once I reached whatever point my counsellor wanted me to, I could come down. I thought that my climbing level was pathetic compared to what the other campers could do. I continued to push myself, until the end of the one-week camp. At that point I could climb up half of the wall without getting too scared.
I was pleased with my accomplishments, knowing how hard the climbing wall was to climb. However, I wanted to do better and improve myself, so I signed up for climbing camp the following year. This year, I was determined, and climbed to the top on my third day. Everybody in my camp could do that, so we had fun by adding challenges. By the end of the camp, I could climb to the top of the wall blindfolded with a beanbag on my head.
I think that this experience definitely changed me. I realized I could accomplish anything if I put my best foot forward. You can accomplish anything as long as you put your mind and full effort to it.
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