I attended my friends’ kid’s birthday party and they had an American Ninja Warrior set up. All of us, adults and kids alike, had a blast. I would have taken pictures but I was preoccupied with the course.

I stared at the floating steps while I talked with my close friend and my sister. Could I get past those floating steps? Am I even strong enough? I asked myself so many questions and most of the time I answered with “you better not, you’ll hurt yourself again.”

I took three breaths and leaped onto the first step, and couldn’t hold on. I failed.

Okay, that was floating steps. Damn. I fell but I didn’t get emotional or embarrassed. It was fun.

There was another course, with the quad steps and I went for it. I already fell and it wasn’t a big deal. I got past them. Then I stepped onto a swinging pane of plexiglass and immediately grabbed onto the rings. I found it easy to step and pull through it and leaped onto another swinging plexiglass pane. I quickly jumped onto the first cargo nets bag, then on to the next on, shimmied to the other side, and leapt to the next one and onto the last one. I had to take a hanging rest while I figured out how to tackle the last obstacle, the u-ropes.

I climbed down as low as I could down the cargo net bag, and reached backwards with my leg and grabbed the u-rope with my foot. I took a step and backwards and grabbed for it at the same time. Then I moved my other leg and my other hand, still facing backwards and swinging. I righted myself, then stepped onto the next u-rope, using three points of contact (thanks OSHA). I reached the last u-rope and I miscalculated the leap to the last platform, but I caught myself at the last moment and ended up in a seated swinging position. I stood up and took another harder crack at it. It took three good swings for me to build enough confidence and jump. One foot. Both feet on solid platform. I pushed the button. I did it.

I decided to take one more crack at those floating steps, and I completed it easily because this time I didn’t doubt myself. I knew I could do it.