Obstacles and Risks I Overcame

Rising to the top of my sport wasn't easy. Many things came up and I just had to be strong and push past them. Some of them were minor, some major and life-changing. Here is a list of some of them.

1. I injured my toe right before Nationals, the competition that could be my golden ticket to the Olympics. Yes, I performed great despite me painful injury.

2. On a skating tour, my friend, Harris Collins died of a heart attack while I was skating. We may have been 30 years apart in age, but I was still devastated.

3. I have never achieved my main dream: winning a gold medal at the Olympics. I have every color but gold. (silver and bronze)

4. As I grew very mature in skating, I was upset to realize that I didn't need my beloved coach, Frank Carroll anymore. We grew to be great friends and great teammates. Letting him go was very emotional for both of us. Even though we stopped working together on the ice, he still cheered for me and communicated with me.

5. When Frank Carroll has visited a coaching conference before my 12th birthday, I went into Los Angeles to take the senior test. (senior is the highest level of skating) Frank hadn't agreed to let me do this, but I went behind his back anyway. (I passed the test...) Surely, he was furious with me and ignored me for several days, but didn't give up on me.