A few months ago at the 7th grade dance, I noticed a group of boys huddled around the pull-up bar, showing off and competing with each other to see who could do the most pull-ups. Most of them gave up after one or two and let go of the bar out of breath and impressed with themselves. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Danielle L. ‘29 step up to the bar. She did one pull-up, and then another, and then another, and then a few more with relative ease. Suffice it to say, the boys were shocked and embarrassed.  

“I just really like being high in the air. I cannot hear anything whether that’s the music in the gym, people cheering for me on the floor. I just can’t hear anything and I just zone in. It’s really fun because I can just have a song in my head and just fly up the wall and it’s not about the speed,” she says.

In the two years I’ve known her, I can always count on seeing Danielle, ball cap on backwards, at the basketball court with a chocolate stained mouth, throwing a football with a friend,  or climbing various structures around campus.                                                                                     

Channeling all that energy is a full time job  for Danielle, who doesn’t just turn regular surfaces into climbing obstacles. She also competes in rock climbing and Ninja Warrior. competitive rock climbing and Ninja Warrior.

For those of us  unfamiliar with Ninja Warrior,  A Japanese TV show called “Sasuke” in the 90’s inspired the popular reality show “American Ninja Warrior,” which in turn spawned ninja training programs and gyms all over the world. 

“There’s just a very wide variety of things you can do in Ninja.”

Danielle started Ninja Warrior in 2019 and then started rock climbing to strengthen her skills. If she’s not dangling from the air, Danielle is likely springing from the ground doing burpees or push ups.  While the rest of us mere mortals are still in bed, Danielle has likely already completed her morning workout–a personally designed  set of core and push and pull exercises. 

One might think that because the sports are so similar, managing the two is a simple task. But Danielle disagrees,  “It’s hard to balance them because they use the same muscle groups. It’s not like football and basketball.”

As challenging as it is to compete in both Ninja and climbing, it’s completely worth it to Danielle, who approaches her training as complementary to each sport.

“This week I’m doing more climbing, but I’m still doing Ninja so I don’t burn out in climbing. I use them both so I don’t burn out in either of them.” 

One person’s burnout might be another’s passion. Practicing is so important to Danielle, that she takes her sports even beyond the gym and into her home life. 

While other 7th grade students’ bedrooms are plastered with Taylor Swift and K-Drama posters. Danielle’s bedroom ceiling is filled with16 hanging obstacles and hand holds when going to the gym is not an option. 

Danielle’s motto in life is, “Never stop working.” It is clear that Danielle really lives by these words, whether that be getting all of her homework done before school is even out, doing three sports at a time, or making sure to complete every pushup in her workout.

Giving your all in two demanding sports on top of Westridge’s rigorous academic program, demands balance and strength–two things Danielle has in abundance.

As a classmate, I admire the way Danielle works hard for the things she loves, how she shows up each day excited to practice even when it gets hard. She makes time for the things she loves unapologetically.

Being Danielle’s classmate, it is apparent that her secret to success isn’t just from balancing all of the aspects of her life and managing her homework. The drive, energy, and effort she puts into everything truly comes from a place of passion and love.

She says, “When I’m just, like, moving my body and not thinking about anything, that’s what makes me happy because, in the back of my mind, I’m, like, thinking, like, wow, like, this is such a cool feeling.”