The first post of a blog always seems to be the hardest it seems…not that I have started THAT many blogs. You just have so much to say but don’t want to burn out to quickly.

Anyway, rockclimbing. That is what this blog will mostly be about, and yet there is more to it than that. It is also about being strong in yourself, learning that failure is okay as long as you get back up, about becoming stronger Physically and emotionally.

I started climbing back when I was in college, but it was really just when there was an opportunity, not because I was really into it. I continued climbing here and there, but in September of 2009 I realized that I didn’t like where I was both physically and emotionally, and I needed to make some changes. Big changes.

In the picture to the right, I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life. Almost 190 lbs. This picture doesn’t show it that well, but I felt like I wasn’t at home in my own body. It was more than just the not feeling physically attractive, I was tired, unhappy, and just not myself.

There were medical reasons that didn’t help, namely I was having trouble with my birthcontrol which had led to weight gain. Along with that and traveling a lot, as well as being just having a hard time caring…I had put on a lot of weight.

It was kind of a strange place to be…hating how I looked and felt, but being too unhappy to try. All of this wasn’t me at all.

So, when I transfered to my new unit in the Long Beach area, I decided that I needed to do something. I hate gyms, they bore me…and I hate grunters (you know the guys I am talking about!) I decided that I would check out a rock climbing gym near my apartment.

There, I met Adam who became my trainer and good friend, and I found a sport that I fell in love with and am convinced has made me a better, stronger person. After climbing and getting back into working out, from September to January I lost 3olbs.

The picture on the left is from December of 2009, and I am even more fit now than I was in that picture.

More important than my appearance, I have found that climbing has given me more confidence in trusting my judgment, as well as strength as a woman and as a leader.

I am still climbing and decided that it would be a lot of fun to document my experiences as I climb, reviews on equipment, post my photography from my trips. Hopefully someone out there somewhere would find my story inspiring. :)