I do what I do…for the thrill, the rush.
My love affair with skateboarding started back in the 5th grade when I saw my cousin land a kickflip in front of my grandma’s house. After that, it was skateboarding from dusk till dawn. Every. Single. Day. Through high school my love faded, but it was quickly rekindled in college. Skating to and from class with music in my ears was easily the best part of everyday. For the first time I actually looked forward to going to class.
I never really realized, until recently, why I’ve been so infatuated with skateboarding. It’s the thrill, the rush. The feeling you get when you’re charging down the sidewalk, dodging cracks and curbs, knowing that at any second your face could slam straight into the pavement. The feeling of narrowly escaping a broken bone or a sprained ankle. The feeling of being in control of something that, at times, seems uncontrollable.
I turned 21 a few months ago, I’ve made the 6 hour drive to Sin City a total of seven times now. A couple times were spontaneous 6 pm Friday night decisions, others were planned weeks in advance. But each time I somehow always end up at the roulette table screaming “Cmon Black! Cmon Black!” Watching that little wooden ball spin around a wheel of red and black, hoping, just hoping that it lands on black is the same. Exact. Feeling I get from skateboarding.
These seemingly small and insignificant realizations have actually caused me to re-prioritize my life. When I first came to college, I was one of those I don’t know why-I think it’s because my parents want me to-it makes a lot of money-pre-med students. Slowly but surely, after getting some unexpected grades in a few chemistry classes, actually lets be real, all of my chemistry classes…I came to the conclusion that knee-tapping and diagnoses weren’t gunna be in my future.
I’ve come to realize that I’m a full-blown addict. No, It’s not weed, coke, or alcohol. It’s adrenaline.
With that said, I’ve come to realize that fire-fighting may be the job for me. Yes, I know it doesn’t require a Molecular Cellular Developmental Biology degree from UCLA, but as of right now I feel like it’s the only career that’ll make me really happy.
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