Leap of Faith

This past weekend, I attended a Leadership conference and ropes course along with 15 other community leaders. We participated in several icebreakers, teambuilding exercises and high and low ropes elements. In some respects, I was excited about the trip and the opportunity to try some of the elements on the ropes course. However, once there and staring at the obstacles in front of me, let’s just say the excitement started to wither away. The first part of the morning, we stayed on the low elements, which required a lot of teamwork and trust. The afternoon consisted of the high ropes. Even though I have been on two ropes courses before in high school and graduate school, I was still a bit anxious about trying these again. The first element I tried was the climbing wall. I usually struggle with getting the right grip and making it to the top, but somehow I surprised myself and made it to the top much faster than I imagined I would (after a few small areas of hesitation). Once you make it to the top, you get to “fly” back to the ground on a zip line, which was fun! The final high element of the day was the “Leap of Faith” pole, which is a utility pole that is approximately 35 feet high. In my

opinion, the “Leap of Faith” pole is a misnomer because in my opinion, the hardest part is not leaping from the pole, but making it past the last few rungs at the top of the pole and pushing yourself on to the top and standing on top of a pole with a radius that can only accommodate about ¾ of each of your feet. For me, it was more the “Climb of Faith” than anything else. I watched 4 people go ahead of me before I built up the nerve to give it a try. I climb the first part with no problem, but when I got to the last two rungs where you push yourself up on top of the pole, it took a few attempts (and a few prayers) to balance myself and stand up on the pole. Then it took another few deep breaths to turn around a face the trapeze. Unfortunately, I missed the trapeze when I jumped, but I was safe and secure in the harness and was lowered to the ground. Even though I missed the trapeze, I was extremely proud that I overcame my fear and made it to the top of the pole. (I will try to get pictures and post them).

Ironically, my experience today is similar to what Wake Forest now faces as they enter the second half of the season. I am thrilled that they are 5-0 and first in the Atlantic conference (the ACC divided the conference into Atlantic and Coastal). However, those who know Wake well know that the picture can quickly change. They should be able to win 2 or 3 more with no problems, but 4 of the games should give them a pretty good battle. After cruising to the top pretty easily, hopefully they will be able to pull themselves up the last few rungs and stand proudly up on top.

GO DEACS!