a whole lot worse. I could have cancer and be forced to give up skating like Jessie was forced to give up swimming. If I had cancer, I wouldn’t even be able to go and skate once a week, let alone every day like I do now. When Jessie passed away, I was shocked and
sad. At her celebration of life, I was also mad at God for taking away my childhood friend. Tat is when I realized that He took away her pain, too. To honor Jessie and all she did for ill children, I have decided to help kids with cancer. I will help them by stuffing JoyJars with the members of the NEGU Squad. I also wish to succeed in hosting Te NEGU Show. Te NEGU Show will include famous skaters and skaters who aren’t famous yet. Together, we will perform to all of Jessie’s favorite songs. Te money raised will go toward funding JoyJars and cancer research. Finally, when I get old enough, I am going to help research centers find a cure for cancer. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that no family has to suffer the loss of a child, sibling, wife, husband, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, etc. because of cancer. Scott Hamilton says, “Today means abso- lutely nothing unless you celebrate the past.” Jes- sie has taught me a thousand things about hap- piness. I will take all Jessie taught me in the past and bring it into my life now, and in the future. Te most important message that I have received from her is, “Embrace every day you have with an attitude of gratitude and a will to Never Ever Give Up. Life is never as bad as you think. You can always choose joy along the journey.” I have learned a lot from Jessie’s lessons, but
now my big question is, “I NEGU, do you?” Ashley van der Sluys Veer, 11, is from Norco, Calif., and skates at the juvenile level.
SPECIAL GIFT by EMILY ALLEN
(PRE-PRELIMINARY WINNER)
For years I begged my mother to let me ice skate. My mom and her sisters grew up ice skating and my older sister started skating when she was 2 years old. I, however, had to wait
until I was 9 as things began to happen in my family that pushed off learning to skate for years. My sister was diagnosed with a painful bone
condition. She was told by her surgeon that she could not dance, run, ride a bike, or walk long distances. She had to be careful with every step she took. She loved ice skating, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I stopped asking to skate. Later, my mom was diagnosed with breast
cancer and became very sick. She continued to battle her cancer for four years. She was weak and frail. I couldn’t ask her to sit in a cold ice rink when she had to wear sweaters during the sum- mer to keep warm. My dad did the best he could
to take care of us. He made meals, did laundry and worked many extra hours to take care of the bills. He has one full-time job and two part-time jobs.
A few years later, it was Christmastime and
I remember my mom calling me to the kitch- en. My sister and mom were standing at the sink smiling at me. My mom said, “We’ve been talking and we feel it’s time for you to learn to ice skate.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! My
birthday is the day after Christmas, so as a present we all headed to the ice rink. I had been practic- ing for this day for a long time. At home, I would see how long I could hold a spiral, count rotations of spins on the floor and imagine jumping. I heard Scott Hamilton once say, “Each time
you go on the ice, do something that challeng- es you.” I didn’t want to waste precious ice time going in circles around the rink. Before we left the rink I had pulled off spirals, spins and small jumps. I was told by a coach at the ice rink to start lessons immediately before I hurt myself. Fortunately, my parents agreed. To this day, I am very grateful for every moment I am on the ice. Emily is from Elizabethtown, Pa. She’s 12 years old and skates at the pre-preliminary level.
REFLECTIONS OF THE PAST by TAYLOR TERRERI
(PRELIMINARY WINNER)
“Today means absolutely nothing unless you celebrate the past,” said Scott Hamilton, a great U.S. Olympic skater. Tis quote actu- ally made no sense to me at first. I thought it meant to live in your past, today. Ten I thought about it and it means that you would not be where you are today without your past, and you should cherish it. When I watched the movie RISE, figure skating took on a whole new meaning for me. I didn’t really know about the 1961 plane crash. All I really knew was that the entire U.S. Fig- ure Skating Team and their coaches died that day. I never knew who was on that plane. When I watched RISE, I learned so much about my sport’s heritage. I even learned something about myself.
I learned so much from this movie. One of
the most important things I learned was that I am impacted by the plane crash. My coach, Juli- ana Kenny, used to take lessons from Frank Car- roll. I discovered that Frank Carroll took lessons from Maribel Vinson Owen, an amazing coach who died in the plane crash. In a way, I am taking from Maribel, and Juliana also took from Mari- bel. Tat made me realize what makes Juliana my amazing coach.
Something else made me realize that, too. I experienced a life-changing event that helped shape me as a person and as a skater. In July 2009, I moved from Highland Mills, N.Y., where all of my friends lived, to the most alien place possible; Phoenix. I didn’t want to move, not one bit. I had a lot of friends — one I thought I could not live without, Ava. She and I were best friends and best skating friends. We shared everything, even our skating coach Steph- anie Plantamura. It was practically impossible to leave her. I felt like a part of me was snatched out. It felt like this with all of my friends, but Ava hurt the most. At the rink, we were one big, happy family. It was unbearable to leave. I also was leaving my first and only coach, Stephanie. She was amazing to me. I didn’t want any part of this move, but I had to go. We arrived in Phoenix the last week of July.
We had met Juliana on a house-hunting visit and she became my new coach. I almost quit skating completely. Tat is how shy and nervous I was about, well, changing everything. When I got the courage to go skating, I had a hard time adjust- ing to my new coach and her style of teaching. I also felt tied to my old coach. I had a hard time listening to Juliana, because I did not believe a word she said. I felt she was changing everything I had ever learned. Day after day we worked on jumps; I thought I was a great jumper. We also worked on spins. She corrected me constantly. I sometimes felt like I was a terrible skater. Every lesson was the same thing. I was just doing the worst I could possibly do and could not help it. Tis went on for five months. Each and every day was the same, me fighting Juliana and Juliana be- ing patient. Tat was until my coach got fed up with me not listening to her. She kicked me off the ice and I was sent home, not just off the ice, HOME!
Tat day I realized something, something
that you can’t just be told but you have to learn the hard way. I realized that Juliana was serious and did not mess around. I also realized that I had been trying to live in the past. Tat doesn’t work. I knew I had to readjust my attitude and amazingly enough, I landed my Axel three days later. I finally learned that Juliana was on my side and was there to help me become the best skater I can be. We still have our moments where I look at her like she has two heads, but I get it. She is now my amazing figure skating coach. Now that I have reflected on my past, I re-
alize how important your past is. Your future is just as important. I love figure skating more than ever and could never stop. I now realize that I do celebrate my past and I am grateful to Stephanie for being my first figure skating coach. She laid the basic skills for me. I must always work hard and remember to keep a good attitude in order to become the best skater I can be. Taylor Terreri, 11, lives in Phoenix. She is at
the preliminary level and hopes to compete at the pre-juvenile level next season.
SKATING 13
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