Just. Keep. Skating.

Ice In My Veins

"NO, NO, NO!" I shout exasperatedly and pound a clenched fist on the cold, hard ice. I was coming out of my third Loop and as the blades of my skates hit the ice, my legs buckled. Now, I'm hurrying to pick myself up off the ice and start my routine from the beginning.

Just. Keep. Skating. I think to myself and my body finds the rhythm again and I glide across the ice.

I don't have time for mistakes like that. I refuse to skate like an amateur. My goal is far to great for me to be falling so much.

Don't think. Just skate. I tell myself as I pick up speed, going through the motions of my routine.

Being out on the ice is as necessary as breathing to me. Everybody has their niche. Something they're good at that also helps them. Figure skating is my niche, my obsession, my therapy. It has helped me overcome many things in my life. It has pushed me to strive for bigger and better things. Where I would be without skating is a mystery to me, truly. 

My parents started my obsession with figure skating when I was really young. Both of them are figure skaters, so it was only right that I become one. My mother bought me my first pair of skates when I was 3. I was almost always out on the ice with them and if I wasn't, then I was watching their routines from the sidelines. It always left me in awe when ever I saw the speed and grace my parents displayed.

They breathed inspiration and determination into my mind, thus creating my goal and dream of being a pro figure skater. They payed for my lessons and drove me to countless competitions. My parents encourage me endlessly and my mother helps in coaching me.

Figure skating goes generations back on my mother's side of the family. It has mostly been the women that do the skating, one generation coaching the next. Seeing pictures of my mother with her sisters, her mother, and her grandmother all in their skating costumes is mesmerizing. They are strong and amazing skaters and I want to be just like them.

My parents say it was fate that brought them together. They both love figure skating and my father's last name seemed to justify their belief in fate. They saw the signs all those years ago and, luckily for me, they didn't just blow them off. I mean, sure every couple thinks there are signs and that they're going to make it. But my parents, even with all the hardships life throws around, really made it.

So, it is only natural for me to be out on the ice. Natural for me to wear these skates and do what I can to improve my techniques. There honestly couldn't be a more obvious sign pointing me towards what life wants me to do. After all, my name is Ellanora Ice.