Why I Still Prefer Rock Climbing Over Scuba Diving

I prefer rock climbing over scuba diving because of the adrenaline rush. That rush is addictive. With rock climbing, getting to the wall usually involves some hard work. Getting there itself is an enjoyment. Climbing the wall, being afraid of falling, is motivation enough to push you up higher and faster. The fact that you know the longer you hang on to the wall, the less likely you'll make it past the crux and get to the top, will make you squeeze out your last bit of strength to keep moving. When you fall, you know you fall hard but there is still the rope that attaches you to safety. When you're being loaded down, you turn around, and you'll have the best view in the area as you look far and down. You'll be full of sweat and full of pain, if not also some bruises and scratches. But you know that means accomplishment and those are good pains. Rock climbing is a lesson for life. Most impossibilities are actually quite possible if you push yourself hard enough. Confidence can make a big difference in the outcome. It's great to reach the top. But even if you don't, the process itself was just as enjoyable.

With scuba diving, the aftermath (i.e. the cleaning) always gives me a headache. Scuba diving is much less physically demanding compared to rock climbing (should I say sport climbing), though it involves a lot more risks. Scuba diving is about relaxing. You want to feel like a weightless piece of trash in the sea. Your movement underwater is like travelling in space. Every move is slow, relaxed, and delayed. Scuba diving doesn't give that adrenaline rush. You conserve every breath as opposed to breathing hard and sweating it out as you would rock climbing. I still like scuba diving a lot. But I crave more for my dose of adrenaline. Perhaps that's the antidote to apathy.