Having recently entered my 20’s and(shoutout to all the September babies)I’ve made it my mantra to put myself out there and try new things that spark my interests. I loaded my plate up this semester with new clubs and harder classes in an effort to branch out from the comfortability of my dorm room. What I didn’t expect was to fall back in love with a sport I had left so far in my past-gymnastics.
Maybe it was the Summer Olympics that were still fresh on my mind or the bedazzled leotards that caught my eye at the Involvement Fair, but either way I took a leap of faith and put my name down on an interest list. For the first time in what feels like forever, I was excited at the idea of getting back into organized athletics. I cyberstalked the club gymnastics Instagram and realized that maybe,even at an age that feels so ancient in the sport,I’d be able to relearn the skills I had forgotten about.
As a child, I did gymnastics competitively for five years. I made it all the way to eighth grade before I realized I was not the Aly Raismain or Simone Biles of my team, and that my growing body could not flip around the way it once could when I was nine years old. Inevitably, I fell out of love with the sport itself, but my teammates became my family, and it was so difficult to leave them. Now that I’m giving gymnastics a second chance, I’m excited for the close knit bonds that will be similar to the ones I created in my pre-teen years.
Although I haven’t had my first practice yet, I’m counting the days down as one would on an advent calendar during Christmas time. I’ve bought new grips for the bars and Nike shorts for practice. Let me tell you, I am terrified. I worry that I won’t even be able to climb onto the beam. But that’s what this experience is all about: pushing myself. How will I know if I never even try?
The thing about entering a new decade, is the inadvertent longing to go back to a time where things weren’t so complicated. Gymnastics to me brings back excitement and simplicity. I like to think that I will hit the mats and perform like I never have before. And while the chances of that happening are not necessarily the highest, it’s the nostalgia that keeps me hoping it might be.
Whether it’s gymnastics, picking up the flute you used to play, or rewatching a movie that you idolized as a child, I believe going back to things from the past can be a healing experience. The older we get, the more power we have to rewrite new endings to old stories that we tucked away in the back of our brains. And with that, I encourage you to get out there and try. No matter what your passion is,past or present,it’s out there waiting for you, and who knows, maybe you’ll end up being the next Simone Biles.