ice skating essay

Anne Tam
3rd hour
February 21, 2010
A Feeling Never Forgotten
Looking through the cold, hard glass, Mei-Li watched the girl in the sparkley pink leotard finish her routine on the ice and take a bow. As the girl exited the rink, Mei-Li felt a cold chill run through her body, for now it was her turn to take the spotlight on the ice. Her heart pounded with adrenaline and excitement as she saw all the people in the bleachers waiting and ready for the next performer. Taking a deep breath, she bent down, and removed her baby blue blade guards as she heard the announcer boom her name over the loudspeakers. Whispering a small prayer of good luck to herself, Mei-Li pushed open the door that led to the rink and stepped out onto the smooth ice.
As her blades touched the clean, white ice, Mei-Li instantly felt the soft tingle she had always gotten when she performed. She loved the way the cold air penetrated through her skin and left her bones with a nice, chilling effect. The way her blades sliced through the top layer of the ice told her that she was in control while in the rink. Nearing the center of the rink, Mei-Li slowed down and got into her starting position. A soft, slow song started playing on the loudspeakers, and as if entranced, Mei-Li started skating to the soft beat of the music.
Little chunks of ice flew around her as she twirled and spun like a graceful ballerina, her long, black ponytail whipping around her head. Jumps and leaps were landed perfectly, the ice not seeming at all like just a sheet of frozen water. When the end of the song neared, Mei-Li performed her finale; a triple salchow and a triple loop. As her thin blades landed perfectly on the ice, the crowd exploded with cheering and clapping. Though out of breath, Mei-Li grinned with all her heart. For her, her performances were everything, even all the minute details that some people failed to notice. The way the ice looked after the zamboni finished paving the ice and before a performance, the calming coolness in the air of the ice rink, and the soft scraping of her metal blade against the smooth ice were all things that meant a lot to her.
Still grinning from ear-to-ear, Mei-Li skated swiftly over to the door that led to the edge of the ice rink; the crowd’s cheering still ringing in her ears. As she stepped off the ice, she took one last look at the center of the ice and smiled. She could still see the circles that she had scraped into the ice during her spins and twirls, and the ice chunks that had been uprooted by her blades. I’ll never forget this moment for as long as I live. Mei-Li thought happily as she pushed the door to the dressing room open.