You are never too old..... Ever.

   Every person on the planet has heard the phrase "it's never too late". I am actually a living example of that phrase. When I was a very small child, I loved to watch figure skating on television. I thought it was a beautiful and elegant sport and I had always wanted to do it, but unfortunately the nearest rink was a very long drive from where I lived. I started taking ballet classes when I was around second grade, so that kept me occupied for the time being.
   Even later in life, the urge to learn to figure skate never really went away. I actually got the chance to get on ice at the age of 23. I had high anxiety; I was about to do something that I had been captivated by since I was a toddler. So I laced up my hideous brown and dull rental skates and walked, kind of walked, stumbled, towards the ice. I put one foot on it. It felt so insanely slippery, who knew ice was slippery?! I held on to the wall and finally got both feet on the ice. I could barely even stand upright. I held on tight to the wall the entire hour and a half. I was so frustrated by the time I left. So after that, I had the mentality that it just wasn't meant to be and I left it at that.
   Some years went by and I moved to northern Virginia. I had only been there a week or so and I was on the internet searching for activities in my local area, and what should pop up? That's right, an ice arena. So I got on eBay and I found a pair of figure skates for $15, boom, sold! I looked at the public ice schedule, and luckily it was during school hours, so that meant it would be pretty empty. I went and sure enough, it was empty. I started out with less of a death grip on the wall this time. I let go and did very small marches, and gradually built up to a very slow and terrified two foot glide. Something caught my eye, and I looked over and there was a older gentleman doing the most amazing double salchows and toe loops, so of course I had to stop and admire his skill. He came over and we talked for a while. As it turns out, he was an Olympic silver medalist in the 70's. He was 62 years old, and he was in better shape than most 30 year olds. He gave me some tips and told me that I could do anything if I wanted to bad enough. After I left, I went straight home and got on YouTube. I looked up basic elements of figure skating. I studied them closely, then went to the rink to put it in motion. With the help of visual aid and advice from veteran skaters, I was able to teach myself a lot of basic elements like edges and crossovers. I was very pleased and I enjoyed every second of it, but did I want to take it further still? Absolutely.
   I found out that my husband was being stationed in Minot, North Dakota, and what do people do for fun there? Skate and play hockey! I was enrolled with a figure skating coach before I even arrived to the town. I was so excited to meet with her, she was super sweet and was very shocked that I had learned what I knew from YouTube. I ended up skipping several levels. I started out in basic 5, and was soon beginning jumps and spins. It still actually blows my mind, that at 23 years old I was hanging on to the wall and could barely stand up and now at 33 year old I am doing things like this.

I definitely have room for improvement, and honestly, I always will. I don't ever want to stop learning. I even got to participate in an ice show. Never in a million years did I ever picture that would happen. This is just one of the coaches that has helped me along the way, I am telling you, these coaches are a patient bunch of wonderful folks and I love them all. I have some crazy habits when I jump, but they all have been wonderful in helping me break the bad ones and continue to improve. I am now a firm believer that "it's never too late". You are never too old to start something new, and don't ever let anyone tell you that you are. Living proof, right here.