Today I lead

I am leader, hear me roar! Today I am a leader. As I have stated before I am usually a follower. I enjoying following people, being led around but today I am a leader. I am the one in front, I am the one paving the way for the one's behind me, setting new routes so those with me may follow me up my conquest.
Now I haven't always been a leader, I again am usually the follower, but in the right setting, in the right places and with the right gear, I am the leader.
Let me explain. With being the follower I am usually cleaning my leaders gear out of the rock and bringing it back to them, kind of like the golden retriever of the rock. Every now and then I do like to reverse the roll. That time had come. I am a leader of sport, another form of climbing where the gear is bolted into place on the rock, all I have to do is tail a rope behind me and clip these bolts up the rock. The consequences are still great for falling, example being if you fall before the next bolt, you are falling the height you are above the bolt plus the amount of rope you have behind you until you stop, usually 10 to 15 feet. Not too dangerous but nerve racking enough you have to think about being the leader.
As all great leaders do, they question their conquests. I have never questioned my conquest, just the strength in my little fingers. Most of the harder leads require a fair amount of finger strength as well as delicate foot work. Let's compare sport climbing to tap dancing. You are precise with your motions, dancing around trying to find your rhythm, moving with such intricacies you are dancing with the rock, moving to and fro, engulfed in the rhythm that is the climb. Now the ability to get up the rock depends on how much you actually find your rhythm. Questioning the climb means questioning yourself, questioning yourself. Questioning yourself means questioning your ability and questioning your ability make you wonder if you will ever be a good leader or even a great leader.
I like to fashion myself as a good leader. I like the thrill of knowing I am the first one up and making my own way. I like the challenge that comes with dancing with the rock and hoping I, literally, come out on top. I like pushing my limits and seeing how hard I can climb before I get defeated, and when i get defeated I get back on and climb again till either I win or the rock defeats me for the day.
My leadership abilities have grown greatly over the past few years. I was always been a timid leader, only leading what I knew I could, afraid to fall or fail. I learned that to get anywhere I needed to push my limits, escape myself and constantly challenge myself, seeing where it takes me. Since taking this mind set on I have been climbing harder than I ever imagined and leading climbs I never imagined I would.
I am a leader. I set goals for myself and conquer those challenges. If I fail, I have only fallen so far and I get right back on and try again. So far I have climbed, conquered, and danced my way up all the challenges I set for myself. I have set some lofty, so to speak, goals and enlisted friends to help me conquer them , for that, I am a leader. I may not be a great leader, but in my mind, I am a good leader on my way to my own greatness.
(pictures to follow)