Personal Narrative: Rock Climbing

The coat of armor I adorned, made of down feathers and a nylon shell, yielded no protection against the daggers of that cold winter air. As I peered out toward the horizon, I saw nothing but tree tops, and some snow capped mountain tops in the distance. With my feet bound to freshly waxed skis, the only thing stronger than my ski poles was my determination to get down the mountain.

Insecurity. I was insecure of my abilities because others labeled me. However, even though I'm not a pro-athlete, I am a gymnast and first place winner for 8 years in our club’s Presidential Fitness Challenge. I am defying the insecurities I made for myself.

Sports have always been a major part of my life. Since the beginning, I have always been involved in some type of sport. I am the middle child of two boys, so i wasn’t exactly “girly”, I was mainly considered a “tomboy.” I tried gymnastics, but it just wasn’t my thing, I stuck to a bat and a ball. Growing up there wasn’t a time when you wouldn’t find my brothers and I, or my dad and I outside throwing pitch. We all played baseball/softball, so it was kinda our thing just to go out and play a game of wiffle ball.

As a kid who wasn’t very athletic or artistic, my options for clubs and classes was kind of slim. So, naturally, I turned to music. I had joined my elementary school’s band in 6th grade, my only obstacle was to choose which instrument to play. I was caught between an alto saxophone and a flute, two completely different instruments, and I of course chose the one more difficult to carry. When I started my saxophone career it felt like more of a chore to practice than it was enjoyable. Soon enough, I started to practice on my own instead of having to be told to do so. I have now been playing the saxophone for 5 years, falling in love with it as the years went by. My favorite music to play on the saxophone is jazz, the energetic feel to it makes it interesting to play and listen to. This instrument has brought me a lot of good memories, I can’t wait to see what else it has in store for my future. I’m almost glad that I wasn’t athletic enough to make any of the teams, because if I would have I wouldn’t have picked up a saxophone.

Last year I started a new sport, cross country. I only did it because my lacrosse coach said that it might help me get better for lacrosse. So I went to the first late summer practice last year to see what this was like, so then we did warm-ups and a lap around the track. Then it was the first time I met coach Chase, My first impression of him was going to be very strict, But soon realized that this was false because of one of the first things he said. He said “I know there are a lot of nerves here right now, but cross country isn’t about winning every race, that comes later” then continued with “Cross country is about showing what you can do to yourself.” This struck me very hard because I was not that fast and was near the back. Through that fall the team did very well, I also made some progress myself. After the season was over I made a decision.

My father drops me off at school on a Saturday morning at 7:00 am with me fully dressed in the brown and turquoise snowsuit my mama had gotten me a few days before. As we pull into the elementary schools parking lot we see a dozen of other kids fully dressed to go on the ski and snowboarding trip like myself. I have never gone skiing before but I'm sure it will be fun, Daddy says that once I learn we can go up to the Bogus ski resort as a family. I say goodbye to my daddy and wish that he would be the one picking me up later that night when we get back but he has to take care of my baby sister Anna since Mama is gone. She won't be gone for long though, because she is coming back home tomorrow or the next day. Whenever the weather is good for

When times get tough, don’t give up. If you want to be the best you can be you don’t have a choice but to push your limits and try. As these words of encouragement have made me become who I am, cross country has shaped me into the person I am today.

Throughout the active school year, I take part in cross country, track and basketball. I also played volleyball for a year, but I decided to concentrate on my main passion, cross country, instead of dividing my time and attention into two sports at the same time. I have been running cross country ever since I was old enough to run in the munchkin races. The sport has been passed down through the family, almost every single one of my siblings have run or at least tried it. In track, I have ran the mile and two mile since the seventh grade. These last couple years I joined into the long distance relays. In 2016, the first year we decided to start a relay it consisted of my sister, Victoria, Tristen Ness, and Sammy Swanson. The first time we ran

I recall practicing every day on my basketball skills being hopeful that I can prove to my older cousins and uncles my skills were good enough to compete with them even though they older, stronger and taller than I was. Even though they were stronger and taller than I was, my handles were always better than there ’s I also had one advantage that they didn’t which was my fast speed which allowed me to be one step

“It goes upside down!” I said. My sister was telling me about a roller coaster ride in Disney World after our parents had broken the news that we were going the summer of my fourth grade year. The idea of going to a park was amazing, but the terrifying part was my slight fear of the fast roller coasters that my family enjoys. My parents looked at me, and I smiled with uncertainty. But on the contrary I started to feel a faint feeling of ambition because maybe I could overcome my fear.

Yet, growing up I was never the fastest or the strongest kid. What I lacked

It was October 2016 of my junior year, right in the heart of the Cross Country season. Cross Country was fun and team was doing great, but I was looking forward to the upcoming winter track season. High jump is where it is at and that is where I wanted to be and then it happened… I went down and my ankle was caught underneath me and twisted. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I was hurt. I was on the ground, in pain as other racers passed me. I was able to get to the finish it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t fast, but I did it.

Fixed mindset: For most of my life, I have thought of myself as “unathletic”. I never did sports when I was growing up, I hated PE in elementary school, and the thought of any physical activity made me nervous. When I was in middle school, my friends convinced me to join the school cross-country team with them. I bought new shoes and running clothes to get ready for the season. Then, I chickened out and quit a few days before the season began without even trying because I convinced myself that I just was not good at running.

We finally reached our destination which felt like hiking the Appalachian Trail. We took a deep breath and scrabbled straight towards the bread aisle. Unfortunately, they ran out of Sunbeam bread, so we were forced to get the bread that made my organs to come out. Whole wheat bread!

My heart was thumping heavily, as the bus took a turn towards the mountains. I didn’t know why I had agreed, but it was too late to turn back.