Tristan's Post!

I think that it is very important to always know when to step out of the spotlight. One time when I did this a lot was on a rock climbing trip I took last summer to Mount Desert Island. I was one of the most enthusiastic camper there for rock climbing, everyone else was motivated, but I was always the one to call "shotty first on the wall". Nobody else minded, they generally told me it was okay, but I started getting more and more guilty about it. Time rolled around that we were going to go climb Otter Cliffs, a 110 foot high, sea-side rock face. I had anticipated this for awhile, the aspect of either climbing or getting swept away by the tide was somewhat hardcore to me, so I (of course) wanted to go first. After we set up a top-belay, and chose our route, the counselor asked who was going to go first. My hand went up, along with one of my co-climbers', Liam. My first impulse was, "Bah! He can wait until I'm done." But my second thoughts told me better. Another belay was being set up, and I told him he could go. I ended up going first anyway, because he wimped out, but more importantly, I gave him the opportunity, and I stepped down for him.