After I finished my finals, I had a few weeks of free time before my internship started and the abyss of quarantine was getting to me. With not much to do, I was working on my distance running, which was giving me terrible shin splints. I spent hours of my day tanning, reading, and wasting time on social media.

In mid-May, I found a skateboard in my garage and wondered what it would be like to learn to ride it. I had seen a good amount of skateboarding clips on social media recently and felt a bit inspired to try it out. At first, I was incredibly scared of even stepping on the skateboard, since balance has never been my strongest ability, but after a few days of falling, getting bruises, and watching tutorials by Aaron Kyro on Youtube, I decided I wanted to buy a skateboard and really try it out.

The day I received my first complete (skateboard that comes with all the parts, ready to ride), I was ecstatic and took it EVERYWHERE. I rode it around my neighborhood, to get snacks from the drug store, and even started looking for empty parking lots to go practice. My best friend Fiona had a penny board, which is similar to a skateboard, and came with me to practice and even came with me to Push for Peace, a protest organized by NYC skateboarders involved in the Black Lives Matter movement and advocacy. 

Soon after I started my internship, I realized I still wanted to dedicate time to continue learning to skate. Every morning before work, or at night even when it got dark, I went to the Tarrytown tennis courts and train station parking lot with my board and spent time falling, but progressing with my tricks. I didn’t have many friends who skated at the time and was afraid to go to the skatepark near my house, so most of my sessions were spent alone. 

In June, my friend Lauren and I went to Go Skate Day in the city, which was a socially distanced day of skateboarding at different spots in the lower east side, most of which we spent watching amazing skateboarders compete. Being a female in skateboarding isn’t always easy, because it is still quite a male-dominated sport, but we were able to meet some really cool female skateboarders that day and make friends to skate with in the future. After that day, I really felt myself progressing and dedicated even more time to practicing. 

I noticed I loved going to skate because I could put away my phone and just focus on doing something that brought me joy. I realized I hadn’t picked up a hobby, no ulterior motive or purpose other than my own happiness, in a really long time. In high school, I felt a lot of pressure to make the right decisions about classes and extracurricular activities in preparation for college, and felt like I couldn’t waste my time focusing on anything else. That pressure I placed on myself didn’t give me much free time to spend just with myself. I personally believe skateboarding is amazing because it isn’t really about talent or luck. Almost any trick or skill is possible to learn with practice, even though it might take you 200 or 300 attempts and hours on end, and the feeling when you finally master a trick you’ve been working on for weeks is amazing. In addition, the people and friends I have met through skateboarding are so inspiring. Through skateboarding meet-ups, specifically for women and queer folks, I’ve made friends from all over NY and NJ who I can go to the skatepark with and finally feel comfortable practicing and asking questions. 

Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent time going to new parks with my friends, having days in the city riding from one spot to the next and learning along the way, and most importantly, feeling really fulfilled and proud of my dedication to learning and improving. I injured my wrist at the beginning of August, but I'm feeling better and still continued to skateboard at the dismay of my doctor. When I look back at the person I was at the start of the summer, I can’t believe the amount of change I’ve gone through in my interests and hobbies, but I also cannot imagine my life without skating and the community anymore.

Although I am definitely still a beginner, with only a few months of practice under my sleeve, I cannot wait for the skate adventures in the future. This fall, I am living in Burlington, MA with other Harvard students and have begun to explore Boston’s amazing skateparks. I am really excited to meet a new community of skaters!

It goes to show that you can pick up a new hobby at any point, even if it is one you’ve never really done before, and it can change your life in just a few months.