“Why don’t you take dance or gymnastics like all of the other girls in our class?” Well, you see, when you have two left feet that very willingly stick to the dance floor, you are out of harm’s way as far as twisting an ankle or getting your toes stepped on, or the worst possible scenario; tripping and falling down in front of a really cute boy. Who in her right mind would ever put herself in a position to potentially get killed? As for gymnastics, do you have any idea of how uncomfortable it is wearing something that grabs on to your skin like Krazy Glue? Not to mention, my flexibility is somewhat lacking. Hockey, on the other hand, is very comfortable and safe for a non-dancing, non-jumping, rhythmically challenged tomboy such as me. The dangers involved are far less significant. Just think for a moment; I have a long stick to hit people if they get too close, I’m in thirty pounds of equipment, and best of all, I’m wearing a helmet and mouth guard to protect the expensive orthodontic work for which my parents were so willing to pay.
As you can imagine, I received quite a few irritating complaints from friends and family growing up as one of the only girl hockey players in my town, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that I found something that I loved and that made me feel like me, even if it was a bit different. I have always seemed to do a lot of things differently or in reverse. Whether it is eating desserts first or deciding to take guitar lessons after I had already taught myself to play, I have my own system of doing things that seems to work for me, or at least I tell myself it does.