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"  Who knew rock-climbing could be so gloriously fulfilling? This morning, my friend Alexandra and I went to the Gainesville Rock Gym and redeemed our free passes for a Belay class and gear. Belay refers to the partner system of climbing, where you basically learn how to save the climber&amp;#039;s life if he or she slips and falls. I blundered quite a couple of times, but it&amp;#039;s easy to lose your footing when you&amp;#039;re trying to grab hold of sparsely scattered simulation rocks embedded in a vertical wall. The person standing on the ground also yells encouragement, which really helps when you&amp;#039;re stuck and ready to give up.  Yet every time I reached that final rock at the tippy top, it was a rush of adrenaline and satisfying sense of accomplishment. The type of perseverance it took to push myself physically paralleled the kind I exercise everyday to keep myself going mentally in school. I think that&amp;#039;s why I had such a good time rock climbing, because it was a tangible manifestation of what willpower and determination can achieve.  On the flipside, I also experienced what happens when one oversteps her ambitions. After we learned the Belay system on a slightly inclined wall, Alexandra and I headed to the vertical walls to test our newfound technique. I tried a standard-looking wall at first, and it was a good challenge. Next, I went to a more complicated course, and nearly failed, but made it to the top. That was a battle. Then, I laid eyes on a very intimidating wall, erected next to the &amp;quot;advanced&amp;quot; course, but this one was still available to us newbies. Hahaha I failed miserably. Four times I tried, and each time I almost knocked off someone&amp;#039;s head. This wall was vertical for the first few feet, but then was inclined against gravity, at a 45 degree angle to the floor. I had barely reached that part before I&amp;#039;d start flailing for the next rock to clutch. Now, when you&amp;#039;re rock climbing and slip, you swing a little bit away from the wall. However, since this wall was sloped against gravity, I slipped and swung in a HUGE arc away from the way and had to yell for people to get out of my hurling body.  Yes, I tried that again four times.  I realized I had overestimated my physical capacity (sadly), but I&amp;#039;m going to climb that wall sometime in the near future. There&amp;#039;s free rock-climbing at Lake Wauburg, which is a really great outdoorsy location for students (with free sailing and canoeing, too!), and we&amp;#039;re going to practice there until we feel ready to tackle those mean-looking walls at the Rock Gym.  Have you guys had any rewarding experiences in sports or intense physical activities that you want to share? What about times you&amp;#039;ve had to overcome some sort of physical adversity? Let me know! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a4108/mary-goes-to-new-heights/>