Physics--It Will Never Leave Me, Part 2

I've talked about physics in the past in this blog. I know, I keep coming back to it. But it keeps coming back to me. This time I'm sticking it to gravity.

I hate limits. I hate when I can't do something. I'm a stubborn person, I'll admit. But I hope that my stubbornness more often than not manifests itself as tenacity. You see, I have always had a fear of heights. I remember being nervous as a child when we went to see the Grand Canyon. I am reluctant to climb on ladders and even on chairs. I had a traumatic episode when I was about fifteen when I had to climb up a really tall tree to go down a zip line. Really, me and heights were not friends at all.

So about two and a half years ago my friends said they were going rock climbing. I thought, hey I like the mountains, I like being outside, that sounds like fun. As soon as I started stumbling up the rock face I realized, Wait a minute, I'm getting higher, I could fall, this could be bad. Then I ended up swinging around the corner of the rock face and I was terrified. It was not a positive experience. Then last summer another set of friends said they were going rock climbing. I determined to go with them. I wanted the bitter taste of that bad experience out of my mouth. So I went with them.

They selected an easy route and everyone went up before I took my turn. And oh my, did I ever take my turn. It probably took me at least a half hour, if not longer. But they encouraged me and told me not to give up and wouldn't let me come down. And I made it to the top. It was a good feeling.

This winter I've started rock climbing on a regular basis. I've been going indoor at a climbing gym about once a week and I absolutely love it. I get better every time, and what's better is I feel more empowered with each climb. No longer am I being conquered by my phobia. I am conquering it. I'm sticking it to gravity. Stay tuned for lessons learned in climbing.