So, MY ICE IS MELTING! Literally. But it's the coolest ice ever... its coffee cube ice. I'm back at Waterstreet (can you tell this is where I'm the most productive? [at blogging])... just sippin' on my "Daily Special" (what I get ever time I come which I love because
a. it's different every time
b. it's always so much better than anything I could have picked out for myself
c. It's only $3.00!)
Today that daily special was iced coffee with coffee cubes in it. Yes, that's right, ice cubes of frozen coffee... what intelligence! Ice ruins every drink... lemonade, ice tea (the most anxiety-causing drink ever, because its hot and then you add ice and it just basically becomes water- too stressful), and coffee!!! BUT, now that I have finished all of the actual coffee in my cup, and the ice is sitting at the bottom, it is slowly melting so every 5 minutes I have a new puddle of coffee in the bottom, instead of weird coffee-tasting water. Genius!
And... on a sadder note... my ice skating ice in my life is also melting. Today I drove away from tryouts for the 2012-2013 Synchronized Skating season... something I never thought I would do when I started this sport. I will be studying abroad in Thailand next year! Although it hasn't really hit me yet, this is a real turning point in my life. Skating has defined who I am: my individuality, my schedule, the person I have become, and my physical fitness. It has kept me from so many other things I have wanted to do, caused so many heart wrenching sacrifices, but has been such a positive influence on my emotions and sense of contribution to a team environment, my microcosm for the larger world.
Synchronized Skating is more than a sport, it's a lifestyle. It has shaped the way I live, how I act, and who I spend my time around, and has been everything I need until now. But I think I'm ready for something else. I'm ready to take on the world, starting in Thailand. I'm ready to use all of the hours and hours of energy that I disciplined myself into improving my skills and taking tests towards something else- maybe changing the world?
I can attribute most of my emotional development to Bronco Skating, and Precisely Right, the most supportive team atmospheres I could ever have asked for during those five years in my life, bringing myself to a place where I can be selfless, supportive and understanding of what I like to think is anyone I encounter. I have a good start on my six pack, some decent guns in my upper arms, and lifelong friends. Skating has shown me discipline, and the true meaning of being a champion. It was never for the medals, or for being the best, it was for coming the farthest, for giving it my all. Who knows what will happen from here... I feel kind of empty, but there are pitchers and pitchers of other fulfillment waiting for me to fill this void.
Courage, passion, hard work... that's what it's all about, it doesn't take much else to make yourself proud.
Definitely have been there. I've spent 4 years trying to quit this sport, and I don't know it is completely possible. Someone once said that you never really convert from the religion you were brought up in. The same might be true with skating. Every time I run with my iPod, in my mind I am skating. But who would really want to forget how, or at least what it feels like, to fly? Look forward to hearing about what will keep you soaring even without skates next year.
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