I've been climbing for more than half my life my life. 11 years is a long time- especially for a 15-year-old. As far back as I can remember, climbing has been a part of my life. I can't remember a time that I didn't have the climbing community as my second family. In this way, climbing isn't really my choice anymore. It's just a part of my life (of course, I love it still). Climbing is such a major piece that I've grown to depend on it. Climbing isn't really a sport, it's a lifestyle.
As cliche as it sounds, climbing is my life. It provides my exercise, my friends, and half of my social life. It takes up almost all of my free time and teaches me how to have a good attitude during success and failure. It teaches me how to try hard, how to work with others, and how to accept help. Climbing gave me role models and taught me how to set realistic but challenging goals. Despite all of that, the best thing that climbing gives me is a way to express myself- somewhere that I fit in.
As a climber, I belong somewhere. I fit in within the climbing community. It doesn't matter that I'm short, or a girl, or really young. When I'm at the gym or the crag*, all that matters is climbing. No matter where you're from, every climber has something in common and has an infinite amount of stuff to talk about.
In order to be a climber, you have to be completely committed to it. Practice takes up almost all of your weeknights and competitions fill many weekends. I have spent so long with climbing dominating my life, that it leaves me with an impossible question: what happens when I can't climb anymore?
*Crag: an outdoor climbing wall
