Appreciating the past.

Ever felt like you were in too deep? Read this!

I love it when I finally master what I'd thought was impossible. I love it even more when I can inspire OTHERS to achieve THEIR impossibles. You see an amazing woman (or man) out on the track? Well, they were once fresh meat too.

When I don't think I can pick up my feet anymore (especially to jump, run, or juke one more time) the ONLY strategy I use is to visualize myself doing it. Sometimes it gets me through, sometimes it keeps me in the game until I can get help, and sometimes... sometimes I utterly fail. The only thing that really matters at that point is that I pushed myself further than I'd thought possible- both physically and mentally. Every path to success is littered with many failures. Every mountain has its ups and downs.

At this time of year six years ago, I didn't know if I'd ever be able to skate again. The same injury that took away my ability to put one skate in front of the other was the final straw that put me on academic probation, took away my voting privileges in my sorority and ultimately made me realize that I was fast becoming someone I really didn't want to be. I was extremely lucky and after years of work I was able to regain all that I'd lost. I set out to heal myself by teaching others and it made me become an even better skater and person than I'd ever been before.

There have been (and still are) many days where the only thing that I look forward to is getting my butt whooped by a bunch of girls. Or I'll set out to thoroughly whoop my own butt and someone else will force me to put a smile back on my face and a dance back in my body. Many days, fulfilling the needs of others is what satisfies my own needs.

Nowadays, some might just see a fast girl on skates. I see the faces and moments that brought that girl to the track; and keep her coming back. I feel the burn of screaming muscles, the ache of unhealed wounds, and an ever-burning drive to skate faster, smarter and longer. The desire to belong and feel wanted. I see a girl who fails in order to experience more in life than she'd ever dreamed was possible.