Since moving here I made a new friend at the climbing gym. I won't give out his name, for obvious reasons, but he is very nice. The first day I was at the gym climbing I ended up talking to some people that work at the gym and told them that I was more of a rope climber than a boulderer but of course, I don't have a buddy to climb with since I was new but hey, ill make some friends eventually. 

After an hour of bouldering, I finally decided to go out and watch some people climb on the top rope. I'm not going to lie that day I felt pretty alone, isolated, and unsure if I would make friends. Somewhere inside I was scared that I wouldn't meet anybody and that I would never get to top rope at this wonderful gym. Low and behold as soon as I thought that this guy walks up and tells me if I want to top rope that he would be my buddy. I thanked him but told him I wasn't ready yet and he kindly told me if I changed his mind that I could find him bouldering. 

Eventually, I Caved in. I drove a long way to go to the gym and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to get on the wall. So I went to him, took the test and we've been climbing together ever since. 

I'm not going to lie it is so nice to have someone who actually commits to climbing and to be so close to climbing spots that are within a certain distance. We have been climbing in the gym a lot and just over the weekend we went outdoor climbing together and it was perfect. In the next few weeks, we plan to go again and I couldn't be more stoked on the idea of getting outside more and actually enjoying the sport. 

In Florida, it was so hard to commit to it and enjoy it because there aren't any places to climb outside. You had to drive a minimum of six hours to get anywhere and most of our friends did that at times where I couldn't go or I was out on some adventure but living in Tennessee it's all within a short drive and I don't have to worry about people flaking just because of the distance alone. It's enjoyable, it's fun and I really want to do more of it. It's nice to enjoy the sports you do and be active and to have friends and make friends while doing it is even more of a plus. After all, having friends and making friends is all part of this wonderful life we live.