We're Starting Over... Again.

If I'm being honest, moving to a new city completely changed me.

I was excited for a fresh start in a new city where no one knew me except for my partner. But I didn't prepare myself for the number of things I'd be leaving behind.

When I moved, I lost more than just my second home at the climbing gym. I lost my friends who were like my family, my community, and the place where I always felt like I could be the real me.

Even if climbing was feeling difficult, or I was having a really shit day, I had the gym & my gym family.

That was all very quickly lost.

After moving, I barely climbed. I felt embarrassed, stressed, and pissed that I wasn't stronger. I wasn't training consistently, I wasn't pushing myself, and I wasn't surrounded by the people who made climbing feel like home.

Starting over in a new city was and still is extremely hard. Building a new community doesn't happen overnight, and I still don't feel like I have found my "place." I truly don't know if I'd ever feel that way again, and that's taken some time to process.

It has taken me much longer than I ever expected to feel like my old self.

But lately, something has changed. I've started to find my way back to climbing. Slowly.

Not because I'm strong again.

Not because I'm climbing my hardest grades.

But because I missed it, and I missed the challenge and friendships it gave me.

One of the biggest misconceptions in climbing and, honestly, in life is that progress is supposed to be this invisible straight, or jagged line. But the fact is life is, life is a bunch of dead ends. You start over a bunch of times, you find yourself, then change yourself, then repeat that pattern 3 or 4 times lol.

I've come to realize these things:

Life happens.

You move.

You struggle finding a job, then you start a new job.

School/work gets busy.

Mental health needs attention.

Relationships change for better or for worse.

Motivation comes and goes, going more often than coming.

Your priorities shift simply because you're trying to survive a new season of your life.

But I've had to remember that I fell in love with climbing because of all the amazing things it brought into my life. I loved staying at the gym until closing, laughing with all my friends, and celebrating everyone's sends, whether it was their first V0 or their project. Those moments reminded me that climbing was always about more than chasing grades and being the strongest one.

I found that sometimes, the hardest thing to do is walk back into the gym after weeks, months, or even years away.

And unfortunately, that's exactly where I am.

I'm not chasing the climber I used to be.

I'm hoping to build a new and stronger version of myself.

I have new goals for myself, and this journey isn't just about grades and being better. It's about rebuilding the confidence I'd lost along the way, rediscovering the joy in movement, and reconnecting with the community that has always made climbing feel like home.

So, because of this, Climbing Wild Iris is starting over as well.

Over the coming months, I'll be sharing my training, the lessons I learn, the setbacks I'll inevitably face, and the small victories along with the big that come with returning to a sport I love.

If you've ever taken time away from climbing, moved somewhere new, had to recover from an injury, or felt like you lost a part of yourself, I hope this reminds you that it's never too late to come back and restart and find the happiness you once had.

Sometimes starting over isn't always a setback like it often feels like, but instead it's where growth begins.

So with that out of the way... Welcome back to Climbing Wild Iris.

I'm so glad you're here! 🌼🌸🌻💕🥰🌱