Looking for Advice
- November 2012
- Simple Living Climb Fly Training Travel
Hello Steph!
I am 18 years old and am currently taking a gap year as an Exchange Student in Slovakia. First of all, I want to say you have been an inspiration to me! Your musings in “A Perfect Circle” provoked great thoughts and were very insightful! You seem to have a very positive and fulfilling life even though you didn’t take the “right” track and that is something that I greatly look up to! Part of the reason that I chose to take a gap year to go on exchange was because I don’t know what I want to study at the university level. I have many interests, and that complicates things greatly for me. At this point in my life I feel like I have reached a crux that offers me many options, yet I don’t know what the correct sequence of moves is. Now, I know that everyone has to choose their own path in life and follow their individualistic desires. You, for example, went to law school as well as looked at many paths that were congruent with your desires and new-found interests. That being said, is there any advice you can give me based on your experiences with making decisions and moving forward from places such as this? I have another question. You are a climber as well as a BASE jumper, which to me is incredible. This may seem a little ironic, but ever since I was young, I’ve been fascinated with both BASE and climbing. I have a friend from Boulder who took me climbing for the first time and it planted a seed of desire to climb that will never die. Another memory that I have of my early childhood is seeing BASE jumping for the first time. I remember seeing a documentary on it and telling my mom that someday I will “do that!” much to my mother’s dismay. From an early age I have been fascinated with both disciplines and have had the desire to participate in each. I have read and re-read “The Great Book of BASE” and have begun to climb more regularly over the past year. Is there any advice you can give me with regards to entering and keeping with both? I have thought for so long that because of the amount of knowledge, training and experience needed for each of these disciplines, only one was possible. “A Perfect Circle” was the first bit of “proof” in my mind that it was possible to participate in both disciplines in a sustainable manner. I want to thank you for the great inspiration and new perspectives! (Thank you for your time as well!)
Sincerely,
Tyler
P.S. I am currently reading your first book and can’t wait for the second!!
Hi Tyler,
Thanks for writing, and for your enthusiasm! Yes, it is not easy to do more than one thing and to do it at a level that is enjoyable and (in the case of high-risk activities) safe. I was put off from wanting to start jumping for a long time because I found it so demanding to climb at a level I was happy with even when I was only climbing and doing some trail running. Finally I was so much drawn to jump that I just started. I found that for the first few years as a jumper, I needed to immerse myself deeply into jumping in order to learn and gain the skills that are necessary, and life was pretty busy between that and trying to climb as much as I wanted and needed to. So I won’t lie: it’s extremely difficult to climb and jump. They are both sports that take a lot of time, and require a lot of focus and training/practice. At the same time, when you follow your passion, you have the ability to dedicate unbelievable amounts of time and focus to the things that inspire you.
🙂 Steph
