Tristan's Essay!

Tristan Yerkes
Mr. Salsich
English 02
15 December 2008

I have had, being a 9th grade student, and will have many temptations. As I have been told countless times, one of the most important steps to avoiding bad decisions, is to find alternative methods of enjoyment, a natural high. I have also been told not to find the natural high, but let the natural high find me. This summer I rediscovered rock climbing. Or rather rock climbing rediscovered me. I say “rediscover” because in years previous, I had visited the local rock gym about once a month. Once I rediscovered rock climbing, I realized it was very important to me in different ways.

Rock climbing makes me happy, and I love doing it. One thing about rock climbing that I truly enjoy is the feeling it gives me. When I am hanging off of a rock face, looking down at the ground and I feel the breeze on my face, I feel like I am on top of the world. Rock climbing is so important to me, I have done my very best to pursue it during my free time. Since rock climbing isn’t that popular of an activity in Stonington, I have gone to great lengths to attain my natural high. I have traveled an hour and a half to go to a rock gym, and pinpointed all gyms in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and visited as many as I could. In addition, I started a rock climbing club at school based around a small bouldering (climbing without a harness) wall. As a busy teenager, I always need something to help me unwind, and with rock climbing, the tension in my life is reduced.

Rock climbing is important to me in so many different ways, on so many different levels. As I mentioned before, Rock climbing is my natural high. Climbing provides an alternative for me. It is much more easy to avoid temptations when I have something else to go to instead. Rock climbing is sometimes my escape as well. I will get so wrapped up in the day, that when I climb, I just seem to let go of everything else temporarily, and hold on to the wall. Many other things give me these feelings, but I think that rock climbing probably is the most prominent of them all, the one that I am the best at, and the one that brings me the most joy.

This simple activity of vertically ascending rocks has shaped my life, and is one of my favorite activities. I may not do it every day, and I may not be the best in the world, but every second I am climbing, that is how I feel. So when the temptations come my way, I’m ready with my answer. “No, thank you” I’ll say, “ I get high by climbing.”