I’ve always wanted to try ice skating even though it’s one of the things I’m sure I’d be bad at. I am horrible at any activity that involves balancing, so I was sure ice skating isn’t for me. Yet, I still wanted to try it.
When Renz, my first ever inaanak, stayed in the Philippines for a month-long visit, I decided that it was the best chance to have someone accompany me to MOA and brave the ice skating rink. And that we did. We had a good time trying to keep our balance in the ice. It was a really fun experience and really painful, too.
Ice skating never looked easy and when I first stepped into that ice, I was so sure that I’d end up hurting all over. I left the rink with bruises here and there, but it’s not just bruises that I took with me. I also managed to acquire some really good life lessons to remember for a long while.
- Children are the bravest creatures on earth. Oh, I know that they’re fast learners. The way they glide in the ice even though it’s their first time told me that I should have tried ice skating when I was a kid, instead of now, when learning is no longer my strongest suit. But children are really brave and I think that’s why it’s easy for them to learn new tricks. While adults like me could barely take a step and quiver at the slightest movement, children are letting go and gliding despite it all. I learned a lot just by watching them. Really. I had no instructor so I had to copy what they’re doing just so I could skate.
- You won’t get anywhere if you won’t take the first step. Once I stepped in the ice, I just wanted to hold on to the railing and never let go. It was slippery and I believed that my skates wouldn’t stop me from falling. But I realized that my P380 would go to waste if I’d just stay in one place. Ha! So despite knowing that the slightest movement could send me from crashing down, I let go of the railing and just tried to skate. If you could call that skating.
- It’s good to take risks. I am clumsiest person I know so I knew it would be a disaster when I stepped on the ice. Knowing that, I still took the plunge just for the heck of it. It would be such a waste if I never got the chance to try ice skating just because I’m scared. It’s like wasting a perfectly good opportunity just because I was afraid to fail and to get hurt. And this is something that I should remind myself everyday. At least I tried. In the greater scheme of things, knowing that you tried and did your best is a lot better than just settling on thinking that you can’t. Well, I learned that I really can’t skate but at least I got to prove it! Haha.
- With enough practice, you can do impossible things. Figure skaters are forces to reckon with. They are fearless people who can glide on the ice in great speed. Figure skating is an activity that only disciplined people can do. It takes a hefty amount of practice to do what they do. I’m pretty sure that I won’t be a figure skater in the near (or far) future, but I’m pretty sure that given enough time and practice, I’d learn how to skate. It looks impossible at first but I’m pretty sure that the amazing figure skaters on the ice that day started out like me, too. Scared and inexperienced. We all start from scratch, anyway.
- Strangers aren’t so bad. You grow up with a constant reminder that you shouldn’t talk to strangers. Then a situation takes place that you slipped in the ice and couples of strangers came up to you just to make sure you’re okay. They’ll offer a helping hand and most of the time, the only sensible thing to do is to trust them and reach out.
- Don’t think too much of what other people will say. Maybe it was in my 3rd fall or my 10th, I’m not sure. I soon realized that I should stop thinking that people were laughing at me everytime I fell. Thinking about it makes me too self-conscious and that’s not good when you’re learning something new. It’s not just in trying out new things. In everything you do, stop over-analyzing and just go for it. Don’t think too much of how people react if you do this or do that. Realize that you’re not the only one in the ice, you’re not the only one who slips and falls. You’re not the only one struggling. So it’s okay to fall and it’s perfectly okay if you’re not an A+ figure skater.
I learned so many things except how to properly skate. But it’s okay. I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming back to try it again, not anytime soon though. My left butt cheek could still feel the sting the moment it kisses the ground. And there are still some bruises on my left palm. Ice skating is a dangerous sport but I think a person like me makes it seem so lethal.
Meet Renz. He’s only 15 and already taller than me!
