“I enrolled in Figure Skating, my first session begins next week!” she was talking so fast and with such excitement, surely I had misunderstood.
“Did you say Figuring Skating? since when have you been interested in figure skating?” I asked.
“I always had an interest in it, I almost enrolled for skating lessons at the age of six. The day I went to enroll, my dad got into a disagreement with one of the monitors and we never went back. As I got older, I thought it was too late.”
Do you have a passion that you are keeping buried deep inside? Why are you not doing it? Is it because of a bad memory from the past when you did try it? Maybe you were discouraged, laughed at? Now, you feel it is too late, you are too old, at your age it is no longer time to start learning or make a change. You have so many other responsibilities, people will think you are weird.
Bianca has always been a very shy girl, at sixteen years old, pursuing figure skating would put her in a spotlight for trying to do something that she was not good at and having to face peer pressure. She did not want that kind of attention from her friends. Some of them had enrolled from a very young age, they were advanced and had already been part of several shows. She felt insecure about having to start at a beginner level while her friends were all advanced. Bianca continued to watch videos on figure skating, keeping her passion and dream a secret. One day, after watching the movie “Ice Princess,” she got inspired! She thought, “It is just like my situation, if Casey can do it, so can I.”
Do you know people who started doing something they love later on in life? You probably think, “It was easy for them, they do not have the same responsibilities as I do.” Guess what? We all have life challenges. We spend so much time focusing on our limitations that we just see these people’s end result without taking the time to find out how these people managed to succeed! It was through all their mistakes, patience and dedication!!
Following a placement evaluation, not only was Bianca placed in the beginner category, she was told that it would be best to start with the nine to twelve age group. Furthermore, she would need to wear a “hockey helmut” for protection from the many falls she would have.
“I know all my friends will laugh at me, I don’t care… It makes me more sad when I watch figure skating on TV, it makes me think of how much I would want to be doing it.” Her eyes lit up as she continued, “ I love it so much, I know I can learn. All I have to do is practice on my own on the nights that there is no class. We have free skating twice a week at the arena, I will go and practice for a few hours.”
So much happened since she first enrolled last September. “ It was weird that a six year old from the advanced group was assigned to teach me some of her techniques.” She was slowing down the rest of the group, they had to wait for her to catch up before moving on. Bianca felt a tension and could sense their irritation. She was approached in the locker room after practice.“ Bianca, you know, skating is not for everyone, you keep falling down, you should stop before you hurt herself, you are never going to get it.”
Bianca never got discouraged! She felt a little out of place, but, there was no way she was going to give up this time, she had come this far! She was too busy learning all the techniques and the excitement that she was figure skating, made it easy to ignore all the negative comments and dirty looks.
So, she practiced and practiced every chance she got. It was hard because she also had her studies, assignments to hand in and her chores. She managed to keep her studies and go to the arena on the free skating nights.
Ask yourself, “how badly do I want it?” It is amazing how you will get creative in making it happen.
Within three months of her enrollment, Bianca not only advanced four levels, she was selected to be part of the team representing her region in the Carole Pageau Synchronized Skating Competition against over eighteen regions across Canada.
The competition took place last February 18, 2012. Bianca’s team won the Gold Medal!!
No matter what age we are, sixteen, twenty-five, thirty-five, forty-five, sixty-five… it is never too late. The only thing stoping you from doing what you want to do is YOU! Bianca kept her passion buried for ten years. The reason why she succeeded is because she transformed her fears and insecurity into the courage to express her passion of skating.
What are you keeping buried inside?
Is it playing guitar?
Painting?
Photography?
Baking?
Maybe that job position or start your own business?
It takes a lot of courage to be yourself and think differently than others. They will challenge you, tell you it is impossible, think you are crazy! Recognize that those who try to stop you from being you, from thinking differently are only confronting their own fears because if you succeed, you will prove them wrong. They are trying to hold on to their beliefs!
Take control, live your dream and what you truly believe in. Do not limit yourself to what others tell you that you can or can not do. Discover just how far you can go, it is okay if you will need to wear a “hockey helmut” at first. If you believe in yourself, you will succeed in the end. So, let them call you crazy, let them laugh at you. You will have the last laugh in the end.
Did I mention, Bianca is my niece:)
In all the woods and forests, God did not create a single leaf the same as any other. People go against nature because they lack the courage to be different. – Paulo Coelho
