"I Can Fly" by Honeybee_Reads_N_Skates

Right foot, left foot, switch, and bend your knees. Watch out for those tiny rocks, and that crack in the ground. Oh, you’re going to fall--brace for impact! It’s cool. Laugh it off. Can you feel that wind when you speed up, when you turn, when you’re gliding!? You’re flying now, honey! Faith, trust, pixie dust, balance, and some coordination. And you’re off! Fro whipping in the wind, braids smacking my face, wig secure. 

Black girl GO! Black boy GLIDE! You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!

This is roller skating: this is what I feel even when I fall. When what I’m trying isn’t working. When all I’ve done is go around the block a thousand times. I remember my first pair as a kid. Since my mom didn’t know how to skate to I taught myself. Love, joy, and fear are what I felt, but I kept going. I couldn’t wait to show my friends what I could do! Couldn’t wait to fly around on my wheels. Now many, many, many years later that love, joy, and fear are still pushing me. Deciding to start skating again is a decision I’ll never regret. Thanks to social media, I’ve been able to find others who look like me AND love skating. I’ve met some truly wonderful women who are beyond inspiring. Ladies who I see and think, “I’m going to be that smooth one day." Badass chicks using their skills and voices to fight for us. No matter how far apart we are, or few we seem, we can fly!

© All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, AWKWARD SKATE MAGAZINE.