One of my favorite things about UCLA is all of the random activities that go on- particularly on the grass by Janss steps.   On sunny days this is quite a popular spot to go in between classes.  You will see people “hammock”ing, other days it will be people playing the ukulele, but you can almost always find people slacklining.

What is slacklining?  You take a 1 or 2 inch flat rope and you put it between two trees and you tighten it so that you can walk on it.  Apparently it is very popular in the rock climbing community.  The more talented slackliners can do tricks such as jumping, walking backwards, and leaping.  It sounds difficult and at first it definitely is!

Every time I have ventured out to Janss steps, I have found different groups with slacklines just waiting for others to join them.  The first couple times people waved me over to try, I just waved and said “No thanks, I’m not that coordinated” and went back to my book.  But the other day I decided to give it a try.  While I only took one step the first time, I felt so accomplished!  By the time I had to go to class, I had taken five steps!  My new friends had been so encouraging and helped me every step of the way.  I was so sad when I had to go back to class, but I was assured that they would be out slacklining at the same time the next day.

It was awesome!  Not only because I got to try something new, but because I made so many new people.  UCLA is constantly surprising me.  I had never heard of this unusual sport before and never thought that I would try something like it (you should have seen my mother’s face when I showed her the pictures)!  Now, I always have a place to go for some outdoor fun in between classes and know that taking a risk is usually worth it!  I still don’t pretend to be an expert at slacklinnig, but I can definitely call it a hobby of mine!