Today the highlight of my day was watching young Latina girls scale the walls of the climbing gym. Their smiles when they came down, having reached the top, were fresh, honestly excited, and genuine. I had so much fun. These three young ladies-A, L, and T-had never climbed and were absolutely delightful. The attention they gave one another, even often offering a hand to literally stand on, and the interest they showed in climbing was inspiring. Listeners and doers.
I was amazed at how their young bodies naturally moved in position to reach a hold, how the instinct of jumping and gripping a hold in a different but more easily manageable way came naturally. The encouragement from below to just go a little further, to rise a few feet higher, increased the girls confidence by leaps and bounds.
I was helping out my friend J with the middle school girls involved in the GAP (Girls Actively Participating) program. http://www.gapjh.org/home.html
It truly was the most rewarding part of my day. I learned a great deal...
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