This morning I did something I haven’t done in a while. I went to my community’s skatepark in the early morning – before the kids and teens get there – and just had some fun riding my old school street board around the park. Didn’t do tricks (I don’t know how to Ollie or any of the other tricks that come once you learn the Ollie). Quite honestly, at this stage the best I can do on a board is cruise and carve. I also have found the skatepark a little intimidating because I’m not a skilled skateboarder. I didn’t start until I was in my late 40s, but when I did start, I found I really love being on the board—but I tend to ride away from public view. I’m 52 and feel a little funny having people see me ride in my clumsy way. So, I typically ride late at night or very early and on streets where there isn’t much traffic or basketball courts when they are not in use. But the skatepark? Forget about it. Besides the local skatepark had been locked during COVID and when it did start to reopen, it was only in the afternoons.
But, I noticed the other day it was open early. And when I woke up this morning, I thought let’s see if it’s open today. Let’s try to overcome some of that fear and intimidation, and use the park – as long as there are no teens there. That would just be weird. There’s another element to this story as well. About a year ago I slammed pretty hard on the street board and ever since then, I have pretty much stuck to my larger cruiser board. But, at a skatepark, a cruiser board just doesn’t really work. So, this morning, I faced two fears – actually going to the skatepark and riding my street board. In the end, it was a great time. I had the park to myself. I rode the street board confidently. (By the way, my old-school street board is still larger than the street boards ridden today). As I was saying, it was a blast. I even rode up and down a few of the hills and bumps in the park. I only had a helmet. If I was wearing my wrist guards and knee pads, I might have even done more adventurous riding. But, either way, it was a good time and I left feeling like I had faced these fears. I still have fears to face when it comes to riding a board, but I still figure at 52 and still a relatively newbie when it comes to riding, that just riding counts for a lot.
The point here is that overcoming fears is an important in lesson in life—including when it comes to writing. I teach college English, and I know for a lot of students there is a fear of writing for whatever reasons, whether it be their language skills, grammar, or the fear that they simply cannot come up with good ideas. I try to teach them to let go of the fear, not to worry so much about it and just to do their best—that over time if they try, they will improve no matter how they struggle. But that lesson also applies to me in my own fiction writing. I face a lot of fears when it comes to writing. Am I good enough? Have I done enough to really learn the craft of writing? Am I creative enough? Do I even have any good ideas? All these questions constantly fill my thoughts, and I really have to work at quieting them. And when I do—when I just let go and start to write—it’s very freeing because it means I didn’t let my fears and doubts stop me from doing something I know makes my life a little better. I may never write a novel that becomes a best seller. I may always be a weekend and late-night part-time writer. But, I’m still going to write because I believe I am a writer and that I was meant to write.
I will not let the fear of failure stop me. And who knows, if I keep at it, I might just write that novel that does reach tens of thousands of readers. Anything is possible. And, along those lines, I might just learn a trick or two on that street board (but probably not). I have bad knees and have to protect them for the other sports I enjoy, like tennis and pickleball. But, I’m still going to ride my boards because, like writing, I know riding enriches my life. And we should all do things that make our lives a little better—a little more fun if that’s possible.
So, for any writers out there, keep writing and enjoy the process.