Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead. My muscles ached, and my heart thumped rapidly.I breathed sharply, trying to inhale more oxygen into my system. I glanced up, looking for a nearby rock to grab and proceed to the top. As I shifted my weight on the wall, I felt one of the rocks and realized the smooth surface did not provide anything that my sweaty palms could grip. I felt my other grip slipping, and before I knew it my muscles and joints gave up on me. As gravity pulled my body down, I directed the word "Tension!" to the trainer below me. He attached the rope that was holding my body to the equipment on his waist and gripped it in his hands to stop my fall. The word "Down!" came out of my lips to indicate that he needed to pull me down to safety; I panted as I tried to climb down with my shaking hands and feet. When my feet landed on the ground, I looked up at the rocks with "5.5" labels and sighed in frustration because that was my third attempt to climb one of the most challenging walls in the gym. The trainer understood my exasperation; he patted my back and said the words that are still ringing in my head today, "Whether or not you reached the top, the climb matters the most. You gain more confidence and grow stronger as you push yourself. If you ever think of stopping, just remember that you cannot enjoy the view on top without being willing to climb.".
My cousin introduced me to rock climbing last summer. She showed me a picture of her family in an indoor climbing center just one and a half miles away from her residence. Climbing is something that comes naturally to all of us. We have done it since we were young playing in the backyard. Why do we climb now? Perhaps we are just looking for something to challenge ourselves, or we just want to feel the rush. Rock climbing can be a dangerous yet exhilarating sport. Rock climbing is not as simple as one seeing a giant rock and deciding to climb it; one has to know various climbing types and gears before he starts climbing.