Ice Skating is a classic winter activity. There are romantic comedy movie scenes that are set at an ice skating rink. You know the ones I am talking about. Where two people are on a date and one of the people doesn't know how to ice skating, so the other person teaches them. They skate around the rink while holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. It is like they are the only two people there.
Honestly, I hate ice skating. At least I did up until a couple weeks ago.
I have gone ice skating many times because there is a rink in my hometown. I would go with friends and we would skate around for a couple hours, but this was a rare occasion.
Maybe I used to hate it because I was really bad at it. No one ever taught me how to skate. I would hold onto the wall and push myself around with my right foot. I didn't understand how to use both feet. I couldn't gracefully transfer my weight from side to side. This definitely made it something that was hard for me to enjoy. I would get scared of falling and hold onto the wall the whole time that I was there.
The Friday before finals week started, my friends and I decided to go ice skating. It was a big group thing with a bunch of freshman and sophomores from the Cru ministry on campus. There were around 30 of us that all went together.
We took a bus to the metro and then the metro to DC. If you have ever rode the metro with 30 of your closest friends, then you know how chaotic but also how fun it is. Our mob walked down the street to get to the ice rink and that time along was so entertaining.
We got to the ice rink at about 7:00 and paid for a two hour skating pass. I had no idea how to adequately tie my skates so they would be comfortable. So, of course, I had one of my friends tie my skates for me.
I probably spent a good 20 minutes holding onto the wall while trying to skate around. I also had one of my friends pull me around the rink when the wall would get too crowded. This was all fun and helped pass the time, but still, I didn't know how to skate.
My one friend came up to me about 30 minutes into being there and said, "Kelsey I am going to teach you how to actually skate." He stood in between me and the wall told me exactly what to do. This was really helpful.
Even though, I could now kind of skate. I was still very bad and still would get nervous about being on my own. My friends were awesome about this. Different people took turns skating next to me and letting me grab onto their arms when I thought that I needed a little extra help. It was like I was just being passed around between everyone.
There were people that I went with that I hadn't talked to a whole lot. I got to bond with them while skating around in circles for two hours. It gave us a chance to talk and hang out outside of the campus. Afterward, we went to dinner and got to spend more time in community with each other.
So maybe this article was less about ice skating and more about my friends. I just can't help it though; I like to brag about them. I have met some awesome people that have helped me to grow as a person in just one short semester. It might have taken a while to establish a good friend group, but now I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I can't wait to get to know them better and spend more time together.
On another note, ice skating is a great activity to do with your friend group. I highly recommend it.
