A couple of months later competition season came and I was so nervous to go out there and perform in front of a lot of people. After the first
Wednesday, April 7th, 1994 started out like any other day, I was attending Jr. hHigh sSchool, in St. George Utah. As a I was a young 12 year old girl that was obsessed with gymnastics, I breathed it, studied it, and lioved it. Gymnastics was my Life.! I daydreamed about competing in front of hundreds of people, lights dimmed down, the spotlight right on me as I performed each skill I worked so hard at perfecting each day at practice. I would picture myself going over my routines, every step, every pose, each body positions, how I’d present myself, f . . . . everything. I wanted to be a college gymnast.
She put me in a group with Finley as my secondary base, McKayla as my main base and Chloe as my back spot. We tried all the stunts we had to tryout with. We struggled a little at first because we had never worked together before. Once we got used to being together, we hit all the
I landed face first. As I collected the pile of papers scattered around me, I cringed and briskly glanced at the unfamiliar faces fixated on my every move below the narrow landing of the school stair case. I briefly questioned whether I was in a cliché high school film before I was brought back to the reality of my freshman year by a stranger who yelled at me to move so she could get to class. As I fumbled back up on my feet and trudged to my sixth period class, my thoughts lingered on the unsurprising nature of this turn of events. Only two weeks earlier I tumbled to the ground in the middle of a half marathon. This clumsiness was not a new development. My evident lack of coordination had loomed over me since childhood, memorialized by the
My first meet of season was coaches spectacular again. I had a vault first and I had been practicing this for awhile now and was really scared to do it. I looked at the judges to show them I was ready The judges had saluted to me and I did the same back to start my pass. I stepped on the runway with butterflies in my stomach and stepped with one foot at a time. Then I had sprinted down the runway, jumped onto the board and had rose up onto the vault and did my tsuk and I stepped out to save my balance.That took off .3 tenths on my original score if I had stuck my vault pass , but it is better then falling it would have knocked off 1.0 point. I had the choice to do a second vault but I was happy with my
I was walking home from the Bart station in San Francisco one afternoon, heading back to my apartment from work over across the Bay, and walking up the street in front of one of the real classy hotels on Geary Street (The Broadway of SF where all the theaters are). Just before the corner where I turned right (my apartment was right next and above a restaurant which I think it was a Benihana’s) I looked down o the sidewalk in front of me and there, sparkling in the afternoon sun (the fog was strangely absent that afternoon) was a gold bracelet of an intricate design, festooned with diamonds. I looked vintage in origin and the diamonds were not chips but I figured they were probably about a eighth to a quarter karat each, and there were probably 15 or 20 of them.
Brianna was very pleased with her accomplishment. The award announcements were still not over, and Brianna still was waiting on the top ten results for the intermediate teen solo category. Shortly, the announcements indicated verbally that she won eighth place overall in her category and that she obtained a higher score than the dancer who won tenth place and the dancer who won ninth place, which was Hannah Clark. Brianna had won eight tenths of a point higher than Hannah, and was a good sport in congratulating her in how wonderful she was on the dance floor. Brianna and her teammates all began congratulated each other after the competition, and were all satisfied of their own
: Looking to fulfill my promise to myself, I decided to take Harry up on his offer to go to a singles bar. We went to the Sapphire bar in Bethesda around 7 pm. The place was packed. Harry was a bit nervous because he feels uncomfortable in large crowds. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, bro”, he said. At first, part of me agreed with him, but I realized it was too late to back out now, and what’s the worst that could happen. “Don’t worry, Harry, I won’t let anything happen to you.” I said. We gave each other a fist pump soldiered on. Even with our new found determination, it took about half an hour before we were able to seriously get out there and mingle. Most bars aren’t completely handicap accessible, and having to navigate two power wheelchairs
I just got off my shift. Working in a bar means staying out late and being exhausted by the end. I stepped out the front door and into the night. The air was bitterly cold, I huddled myself within my coat as I walked down the street to my car. It was close to December, it would be getting much colder. Up in New Hampshire, winter starts in late early November and just keeps getting colder. I opened the frozen door of my little car and climbed in. The engine sputtered when I turned the key.
Using my old experience and old habits I had become just as good or even better than before. As I was on the freshman team for gymnastics, I had brushed off the rustiness from the break that I had taken. Even though the sport is as not tough and rough as club, I still felt the rush that I did before. As I take the skills and lessons that I learned from club gymnastics, I still work just as hard and have just as much fun. As freshman year continued, I started to remember the habits and the reasons why I loved this sport. With a different coach and new teammates, I still felt at home. Jumping back onto the equipment was like riding a bike, even though I was a little rusty at first, I will always remember what was taught to me. Throughout freshman year I have improved and grown potential that I hope to apply later in life and later in gymnastics. I push for new skills and moves every day, but most importantly the sport makes me feel
Competition day quickly approached, but I felt well prepared. When loading Noir into the trailer I noticed he was acting really anxious, which I understood, because it was his first time ever going to a competition, but I just ignored it. Once we got to the arena, I warmed him up over a few jumps, and everything seemed fine.
I was with my friends; Michael, Joseph and Dylan in the same team. Feeling hyped up, I was confident of winning the laser tag contest, even though I had never done it before.
Some other things were said but I never heard them. I gently dug my right heel into Stripe and effortlessly he stretched his inside leg out in to a gallop. The dust floated up into my face drying my tongue out and slightly stingy my eyes. The rhythm was perfect, I was gliding in perfect motion. I stretched my heels down as far as they could go and tried to sit up tall trying to achieve the unattainable perfect position. The first jump was quickly approached. Stripe’s stride quickened as I dug my heel harder. 1, 2, 1, all other thoughts left my head and my body went into auto piolet. I surged my body forward maintaining balance and precision. It’s the pinnacle of teamwork, trust, and freedom. At that moment nothing else mattered, all the tension and stress escaped. It’s a little taste of heaven here on earth that makes me fall in love with the sport over and over again. Once I landed my first jump, I turned my head towards the two diagonal jumps. Stripe speeds up because of the crowd. I once again launched my body forward as he leaped over the flowered box leaving a cloud of dust were we just we a few seconds ago
Finally, the other girl and I, are still staying up. Girls screaming and cheering me on like a laughing hyena, making the only option left, beat the high school record. I already knew that the high school record remains sixteen minutes. “How many minutes has it been?’’ “12 minutes,’’ “4 minutes to beat the high school record!’’ Finally, my body started to lower a bit closer to the ground. But my friends kept yelling and screaming, motivating me,to stay up .Soon enough, my legs shake like in winter when I have shorts on instead of snow pants. My stomach starts joining the shaking along with my legs. The girls keep saying,”Don’t let a 6th grader beat you!’’ So I keep going even though I just really want to flop down on the floor and quit. Because of my friends, I keep going, so I couldn’t let them down. I knew if I did flop down it wouldn’t be worth
“You don’t have anything to be nervous about. You’re, like, the best dancer. You’re amazing!” Shannon gushed.