3. Skating

I started skating when I was in fourth grade- my mum had taken lessons as a kid, and decided to get back into it. I have never been very good at it- I am probably the least coordinated, least graceful people you will ever meet- but there was something so liberating about gliding down the ice, and I was hooked.  Before skating, my participation in athletics was mostly limited to school PE classes and rescess soccer games, generally involving me playing goally so that I wouldn't get in eeveryones way. So to have discovered a sport that didn't involve getting whacked in the face with a leather ball was a bit of a revalation to me.
I know it's a bit cliché, but being involved in the sport has taught me alot about life. It has tought me about determination and perserverence in pushing myself to get that new jump or spin. It has taught me not to judge myself based on the skills of others- My best skating friend in three years younger than me and two levels ahead of me. It has tought me to learn from my mistakes, to ask for help if you need it. It has helped me to manage my time better, juggling between homework, skating, social life, and sleep. I could go on forever. But that would probably bore you...
By far the most important thing that it has tought me is that there is always a place that you belong. I can be having the worst day of my life, and someone will always be there to smile or say hi to me. Maybe it is because my Mum and I are so involved with the rink, but it does seem that the people there are more like family than friends. many a time someones parent will offer to give me a ride if my mum can't, or the other way around. The coaches have been my mentors for many years, and I look up to them with the utmost respect. I went to the annual summer camp as a counseler for the first time, and it was a very enlightening experience to be 'the coach' for a whole new generation of skaters. I can only hope that they can look up to me in the same way that I have looked up to the current coaches.