(no subject)
Oct. 13th, 2001 07:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kuangningWhile I'm on the subject of getting past fears and determination... one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, I saw while I was working as a carnie. I was assigned the rock wall that night.. exactly what it sounds like. Five dollars, and a child over 70 lbs gets strapped into a harness and turned loose against a "rock" climb.
The kids, as you might imagine, came in all types, and with much the same results. Some made it, some didn't. I gave a boost where I could, cheered them on, led the applause from below, and kept parents from interfering too much. But that's another story.
Anyway, among the stream of children, there weren't many girls. So I'd have remembered Jessica anyway. She was a thin six-year-old, so light she barely made the weight requirement, and I honestly looked at her and thought she'd make it maybe halfway. She hadn't done the climb before, but she refused to start off on the easy slope. She opted for medium, I put her in harness, and up she went.
She got halfway up, and then progress stopped. I pointed out the easiest routes for her to take, told her which leg or hand she should move next, but it was easy to see she was exhausting herself fast. She slipped three times before her father started telling her to give up. Twice more, and I was agreeing with him. She caught herself, time after time, regained her ground, and after the seventh fall, when she was trembling so hard she could barely hold on, her father was begging her to stop. She looked down, shook her head, then looked up again and kept going.
It took her more than thirty minutes.. a hell of a long time for a kid, unused to climbing, to support her weight on just her fingers and toes. Most of the ones who made it, did so within ten minutes.
Needless to say, she proved us all wrong. She made it to the top, rang in, and came down, still shaking, but wearing the biggest grin I've ever seen.
The bravest person I've ever met.. and she's not even eight years old yet.
The kids, as you might imagine, came in all types, and with much the same results. Some made it, some didn't. I gave a boost where I could, cheered them on, led the applause from below, and kept parents from interfering too much. But that's another story.
Anyway, among the stream of children, there weren't many girls. So I'd have remembered Jessica anyway. She was a thin six-year-old, so light she barely made the weight requirement, and I honestly looked at her and thought she'd make it maybe halfway. She hadn't done the climb before, but she refused to start off on the easy slope. She opted for medium, I put her in harness, and up she went.
She got halfway up, and then progress stopped. I pointed out the easiest routes for her to take, told her which leg or hand she should move next, but it was easy to see she was exhausting herself fast. She slipped three times before her father started telling her to give up. Twice more, and I was agreeing with him. She caught herself, time after time, regained her ground, and after the seventh fall, when she was trembling so hard she could barely hold on, her father was begging her to stop. She looked down, shook her head, then looked up again and kept going.
It took her more than thirty minutes.. a hell of a long time for a kid, unused to climbing, to support her weight on just her fingers and toes. Most of the ones who made it, did so within ten minutes.
Needless to say, she proved us all wrong. She made it to the top, rang in, and came down, still shaking, but wearing the biggest grin I've ever seen.
The bravest person I've ever met.. and she's not even eight years old yet.
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no subject
Date: 2001-10-13 08:07 am (UTC)nice of you to share.
Re:
Date: 2001-10-13 11:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2001-10-13 01:18 pm (UTC)I miss climbing.
no subject
Date: 2001-10-13 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2001-10-13 09:24 pm (UTC)(She's just in a gymnastics class that's way too hard for her - all the other girls are way bigger than her, but she keeps plugging away!)
*smile*
Date: 2001-10-13 09:31 pm (UTC)However, lots of parents agree with you.. as I said, one of my main functions was to make sure the kids got a chance to do their best, by keeping the parents reassured. That rock seems really high when it's your little one halfway up it.
Re: *smile*
Date: 2001-10-13 09:37 pm (UTC)Re: *smile*
Date: 2001-10-13 09:46 pm (UTC)Re: *smile*
Date: 2001-10-13 09:49 pm (UTC):)