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New Territory: Facing the Rock

by William :: Monday October 24, 2005

This year I have faced many surprising new challenges. I have much more work than I did last year (but not an unmanagable amount) , and I have started playing sports on a more regular basis. This fall, I chose to enter the Rock Climbing Program. I had had some experiance climbing before, but this has rocketed my appreciation to a new level.

The most stunning part about it for me is the realization that the work is much more mental than it is physical. Even though you are hauling yourself up a sheer wall with your phyisical strength, what keeps you going through the pain is your desire to reach the end.

This test of will comes at the end of the day, a wonderfully refreshing departure from academia. Every day we either run out to the Boulder Field, or we find ourselves in the gym on our amazing climbing wall. Both of these present chalenges that, by the end of the sports period, have drained me, but also reset me. The whole experience makes it easy to transition into formal dinner and work again.

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