30/11/2021
Have you ever dusted off an old childhood favorite and found a new passion for it as an adult?
I was an avid rollerblader as a kid — from the ages of 7 to 15, I asked for new rollerblades every year for my birthday or Christmas and would spend HOURS skating. Otherwise a deep hater of physical activity but aided by the 90s fervor for inline skating, rollerblades were my “thing” (don’t even get me started on the Disney Channel Original ‘Brink’ 😍) for a long time.
As is the way with teenagers, four wheels with an engine replaced my beloved blades and soon I had abandoned the wind in my (helmeted) hair for the vehicular version (sans helmet this time). I drove, got a job, went to college, moved from Illinois to California, had kids, and otherwise moved on completely from something I had once enjoyed. In truth, I’d forgotten about rollerblading entirely.
But this year, as June approached and I turned 33, I decided — in spite of an 18 year (😭) hiatus, I wanted to pick up the habit again. So I bought myself some new inlines from Impala Skate, stocked up on protective gear, and off I rolled.
It was like I’d never stopped.
I’ve had some hiccups in my reintroduction to rollerblading: a surgery in August knocked me off my wheels for 6 weeks, I got busy at work, moved in with my fiancé, and life got in the way.
But I’m recommitting to myself and my first love, enjoying a daily skate sesh even if only for a few minutes, because it clears my head and keeps my creative ADHD brain from crashing.
What was your childhood hobby? Do you still do it? Would you pick it up again as an adult?
