TL; DR I sent my first ever project and my first 5.13a, Great White :) What began as a challenge to finally apply myself to climbing in a focused way beyond pure recreation, became an emotional, mental, and spiritual journey that I didn't anticipate but that I deeply appreciate. I move quickly and frequently. But projecting a climb and doing it clean from bottom to top ("sending") requires slowing down, stopping to analyze and process, and a mental stillness that is pretty counter to my default state. Because sending the route requires synergy of mind and body, and finding flow with something that challenged and scared me, it brought a lot of reality (the kind we don't always see on IG) to the surface that I hadn't really processed before. People kept telling me that I was physically strong enough to send the route (thanks to all the training sessions @gp_eighty_one !). But I kept falling at the same spot near the end, over and over again. On my last session there, I unexpectedly ran into my friend @joshlevin94 who said, "You're carrying extra weight up the route. You need to put that weight on paper, let it go, and then you'll send." On the send day this weekend, I was feeling trash. My body was exhausted, my spirits weren't great. I told my climbing partner @hyunsukyooclimbing I was going to warm up on the route bolt to bolt and take it easy. He said, "It's okay to cry at the crag, who cares?" Over the last few weeks, I wrote a lot, shed some tears, and dropped those weights. I was tired, shed one last tear before tying in, got on the project to warm up, and ended up sending fairly comfortably. Yes, I'm psyched that I sent the proj! But more, I'm grateful for everything that came along with the process. Thank you all, I love you! 1. thanks @interdymensionall 📷 2. post send hug to the best belayer and friend @hyunsukyooclimbing 3. where i kept falling over and over, thx @keenantakahashi for belays and beta 4. when i ran into @joshlevin94 / thanks for the support friends! 5. thanks to @gp_eighty_one fam for all the good training sessions 6. post send selfie with reluctant @hyunsukyooclimbing 7. post send popcorn haul duh @lesserevilsnacks