Over the 10 years I have been a figure skater, I would say I’ve learned some important lessons in life. Many of those, came from my time on the ice. Through all of the challenges, figure skating has molded me into who I am today. I have met so many amazing people through the sport, and made connections with people that will last forever. So today I would like to say thank you to the sport that’s changed my life.
1. Thank you for the memories
I cannot really look back on my childhood and not think of the ice rink. My weekends were always spent running around the lobby with my friends in between production and synchro practice, or spending the entire weekend watching my friends compete. Not many kids beg their parents to go to the rink 2 hours before practice, but what they didn’t know was how much fun it was to ride your zuca bags around the locker rooms, or run around the park with the "little girls" of that time.
2. Thank you for the friends
Figure skating bonds people in a way that not many would understand. Everyone else knows how hard you have to work, and they support you in everything you do. Some of my greatest friends were found in skating, just because they understand exactly what you are going through. I attended more ice skating birthday parties than I can count, but I would not have changed it for anything.
3. Thank you for my coach
My coach is one of the most influential people in my life. I started skating with her when I was eight years old, now I'm 19 years old and we are still close. She has given me life lessons that I will never forget, and most times been more like my therapist than my skating coach. She ultimately taught me that there is more to life than figure skating. I truly will never forget anything she has said. The bond you form with someone when you spend most of you days together is like nothing else.
4. Thank you for the early mornings
Never in my life did I think I would say that. Beginning in 5th grade, I used to get up and skate before school almost every day. In high school, I would try and come up with any excuse in the book to not have to get myself up at 5am every day, but it taught me discipline and also how to be a morning person (well, a 8am kind of morning person).
5. Thank you for my team
Teams in figure skating are different than most other teams. You are most likely competing against your friends, while also competing against other teams. However, when everyone encourages each other to do their best like my team did, you become more like a family. In not many other places can you have this kind of bond. We are not only teammates, but close friends as well. This also applies to my synchro team. Having to match beats of music to an ice skating program can be very challenging, but my teammates never gave up. Also having 15 other girls who love the sport as much as you do makes for really fun practices.
6. Thank you for being my escape
I am the first to say that like most other children, I was not always happy growing up. But I don’t really ever remember a time when the rink couldn’t fix that. Skating was always my way of forgetting the “real” world and just getting to be me for a few hours.
7. Thank you for giving me confidence
This might be most important for me. When I started skating, I couldn’t go into a room full of people without basically having an anxiety attack. Now, I can walk into a room and give a presentation without having second thoughts. The people that knew me when I first started competing wouldn’t even recognize me now. I’ve become more happy, independent, and outgoing all because of skating and the people I’ve met through it.
So, thank you, figure skating, for allowing me to truly be myself. Although I do not skate anymore, I will always consider myself a figure skater. You have changed my life for the better, and for that I will be forever thankful.
