5 Ways that Roller Skating Improved my Life
April 28, 2023 | Amqui, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Québec
Photo Credit: Jessi Lovelance. Posted with permission.
I started roller skating during Covid in April 2020. Just after my grandfather passed away, and after I was broken up with, I wound up at home, where I grew up.
One day, my brother and I found my roller skates in the garage. I put them on, and somehow, they still fit. They were pretty tight, but they functioned. I have figure skated since I was 3, and the movements are basically the same. This helped a lot, and still continues to serve me well. I went off, down the street, and learned my first movements. Over time I would buy two different types of skates, become competent and confident in myself, and in my skating skills. I met my best friends through roller skating, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Our Christmas 2022 meal!
Photo Credit: Nadine Steinley.
Me and my friends skating before I left for Quebec.
Photo credit: A passerby who offered to take our picture after watching us struggle. Photo posted with permission.
It gave me space. During covid when I was stuck at home, with nothing to do, I was permitted to leave the house to exercise, such as walks, or roller skating. This gave me space form my family when we were all stuck at home. It’s also given me space from roommates or from my physical space in a time where we couldn’t.
It gave me exercise! Roller skating has been good for my physical body (minus the bruises), its good for the lungs and keep my skating muscles strong for the winter when I go back to figure skating. It’s helped me improve and keep my stamina up too!
It made me friends! I met my friends online through a local roller skating group! We started out by just skating, then we went to the skate park then 2 years later we meet as much as we can! We have a gift exchange each year, and I always cook for them when I am home!
It gave me goals and ambitions, and something to work on and improve! I spent hours in parking lots skating, working on stopping, turning, balance, or strength. I was proud of myself after each time I succeeded at something I’d been working on.
It improved my mental health. In a time where we had no idea what the future looked like, or how this would impact us, I gave me something to work on, something to look forward to, something to hold on to. I kept me grounded in a time where there were so many sudden changes and plot twists, and for that I thank roller skating. It also helped me find some of my best friends, whom of which I have laughed, cried, partied, been sick with and graduated university with.
In the end, roller skating certainly changed my life. It improved my mental health, my social circle and my physical heath, and for that I thank it. I also acknowledge the privilege it takes to be able to buy 2 brand new pairs of skates for $300+ each, and to be able to physically skate.
I appreciate all it has given me and I am excited to see what new opportunities will come from it.
Author
Nadine Steinley
Community Liaison (Amqui, Bas-Saint-Laurent)
for Y4Y Québec
