That program soured me so much, and even though I know that the teacher is different and more motivated, it will never compare to Ms. There are even fewer that offer freestyle programs. There are very few places left to rollerskate. Jackie is trying to find us a new home, but skating rinks are closing and being torn down and replaced by sports arenas all the time now. If this was a novel, I'd say that was a fitting conclusion to my fourteen-year freestyle career. (And sadly homophobic too, though we were only ten at the time and certainly didn't know better.) And when I started freestyle skating, it was some distant dream to skate on the open wooden floor all by myself at Skateland Putty Hill. I had secretly looked up to this eccentric girl in one of the other fifth grade classes, and she was in my troop, and we skated together during couples, holding a scrunchie between us instead of hands because she was afraid of looking gay. I remember being a Girl Scout for a year (just to go to horse camp, which ended up really sucking), and we would always have our parties at Skateland Putty Hill. She admitted to having her first kiss right over in the corner. We both remember a time before rollerblades when kids still skated and going to Skateland Putty Hill was such a treat. As the two old married ladies, we tend to hang out and talk. I was talking to Shannon tonight she is one of my teammates, the best skater I know, and relatively close to me in age. Jackie slowly proving to me that I was not a worthless freak, after other teachers and peers had spent the prior five years convincing me that I was. I am still hopelessly geeky, but I've grown a spine in the last fourteen years, and a lot of that had to do with Ms. Jackie, my teacher-saved me in a lot of ways when I was younger and hopelessly geeky and hopelessly insecure. Cheesy as it sounds to say, freestyle rollerskating-and Ms. How can I be sad over a stupid skating rink? I am, though. The week after, I will skate on that gorgeous wooden floor for the last time. I had a lesson tonight, a special class focusing on stretching and holds. And not the kind that will allow skating. It has been sold to the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks to turn into a sports arena.
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