Ever since I was young, I’ve always had a love for figure skating. The thought of flying on the ice after landing an amazing jump or doing a very difficult spin intrigued me. I admired the competitive aspect of skating and how the competitors put up a fight until the end of their program. It was something I always wanted to experience for myself. Little did I know that the sport would help make me into the athlete I am today.

I started figure skating about the age of 9. Megan and I went to a public skating session at Body Zone in Reading. We had a lot of fun just gliding and fooling around on the ice. Toward the end of the session, after I felt more confident, my crazy self was trying to do spins and jumps. My mom watched me from the glass surrounding the rink. I asked her, “Mom, how do they do turns on the ice? I don’t understand.” I kept attempting them and she saw how determined I was. She later said to me, “Greta, if you want, I could sign you up for lessons. They have them here at Body Zone.” From that point on, becoming a great skater was one of the only things I thought about.

I began taking the Learn to Skate classes for beginners. I passed two of the basic skills classes and later went on to private lessons. I started competitions when I was about eleven years old. Several competitions were close to Body Zone and some were further away, so I had to travel, which wasn’t exactly my favorite thing. I loved performing my routine at competitions; therefore I just dealt with the long trips in the car. I adored everything the sport had to offer, until my devotion to skating went down hill.

You know the heartbreaking feeling when you don’t enjoy anything anymore, well that feeling is what caused me to think about quitting figure skating forever. Over the summer, the sport started to seem like a chore. I felt as if I was forced to keep going. I started to lack confidence in myself (much more than usual) and in my skating. My passion for it just stopped. Personal issues went into this feeling as well. I said to my mom “I can’t do this anymore. I’m not getting any better. My heart isn’t where it’s supposed to be. I’m done.” She respected my decision, even though she highly disagreed. She told my coach who wasn’t thrilled, but understood. I needed to focus on something else. I ended up quitting…but only for a week.

Boredom filled my home after a week. Skating kept me occupied. I wanted to be on the ice again. I realized figure skating was a part of me that can’t be taken away. I wasn’t going to let myself quit. The real reason I started skating was because it was so much fun and enjoyable. I skated a day later, the joy came back to me, and I didn’t want to leave the rink.

My greatest achievement was earning the bronze medal at South Atlantic Regionals and having a successful skate in the semifinals. Landing my doubles consistently was also something I was very proud of and I hope to continue to participate in more competitions this year including those on the international level. Some long term goals are: landing my double axel, start working on triples this year, pass my senior moves in the field, and get extra points on my spins.

Having the ability to skate is a true blessing. It showed me that you need to have many failures in order to achieve greatness. Yes, it’s stressful when you have failures, but failures help pave the way to an even greater success. So, I am telling all of you right now, if there is something you have a passion for, don’t lose hope no matter what obstacles come your way. Never give up on something you can’t go a day without thinking about. I didn’t give up and I encourage all of you to do the same.