I don’t consider myself a competitive person. I had my competitive streak many years ago, but that pretty much ended when I left high school and started my undergraduate studies at Pomona College, one of the least competitive, most collaborative and supportive environments I’ve ever been in. I even stopped competing in skiing and swimming when I started college. I had worked hard to get to where I was, but it was no longer about being the best, it was about learning and bettering myself as a person.
Here I am, years later, in veterinary school and though I don’t feel any pressure to be in the top of my class I work hard to learn the material so that I will become the best veterinarian I can be upon graduation. I don’t have an ounce of competitiveness left in my body and yet this week I will be competing, not with my classmates, but with my fellow rock climbers in an annual competition series called “Crankin'”
To be honest, I never thought I would compete in rock climbing or any other sport ever again in my life, but especially not rock climbing as it is a sport that I am involved with because of the non-competitive, supportive and social environment that it fosters; competing just seems counter-intuitive. Nevertheless, the supportive and social environment that I love convinced me that I should compete.
So on Friday, together with my teammates, friends, and fellow climbers, I will climb, in the same supportive and social environment, but this time for points!