Tufts Blogs

The summer before my junior year in high school, one of my friends called and asked me if I wanted to go rock climbing. I had never really climbed before, but because I say yes to almost anything, I obviously accepted the invitation. After my first visit to the climbing gym, I immediately got a membership and quickly became a regular at my local climbing gyms. It became one of my favorite hobbies to do in my free time, so I knew it was something I wanted to continue in college!

After arriving at Tufts, I attended the club fair to see what climbing options were available within our student organizations. I came across Tufts Climbing Team (TCT) and decided to join! TCT has three available levels, including competitive, training, and recreational. I joined the recreational team for my entire first year at Tufts, and my experience was amazing!

From the karaoke-style car rides and all of the organized social events, to going to different markets and dining locations around the area, TCT has provided an amazing and welcoming community for me. I’ve found some of my closest friends from the team who I can’t wait to spend the next couple years with. Additionally, climbing team has also given me an opportunity to explore the area, as we’ve done bouldering both at Alewife and Harvard, as well as going all the way out to Stoneham to do top rope! 

I started going to gymnastics practices during my second semester at Tufts. One of my friends had asked me if I was coming to the backflip clinic they were hosting, so of course I had to say yes (again, like I do to everything!). When we arrived, the team was extremely welcoming and had us all warm up, and then we dived straight into some drills to help us with backflipping technique. Although I didn’t quite get my backflip that day, I was determined to get it by the end of the semester, so my friend and I kept going back in for practice throughout the entire semester. 

Tufts Gymnastics Team (TGT) is an amazing community that practices at Gymnastics Academy of Boston, a gym located right outside of the Tufts campus. It’s about a 15 minute walk from central campus, and it has bars, beam, floor, and vault- everything you need to practice gymnastics! I went in about once a week last semester to work on my backflip along with some other skills, and the entire process taught me so much about perseverance and consistency- so much so that I even wrote my last English paper of the year about my entire backflipping journey and the lessons it taught me! 

Overall, athletics at Tufts have just been amazing. Sports introduces you to an amazing community of people, teaches you discipline, and is really good for your body in general! It’s a great and fun way to exercise while also getting to know others. Next semester, I really hope to continue with the sports I’m already involved in, but I also want to join recreational soccer, as I’ve been a fan of watching football for a long time but never learned how to actually play. (It’s been an amazing World Cup summer!!!)

So, whether I’m on the wall (climbing) or the floor (flipping), I’ll definitely be paying visits to a gym next year!