“Watch yourself on those wheels now.”

^ If anyone has figured out how to do this, please let me know.

Unfortunately, these classic Irish words of wisdom didn’t prevent 11-year-old Saoirse falling flat on her ass after trying out her trendy new pair of ‘heelies’. One bad wallop across the tiled floor was all it took for my career on wheels to end, and my fear of wheels to begin.

I rarely rollerbladed or iceskated as a kid. Most of my encounters involving these activities were spent becoming acquainted with the reliable sweaty railing while judging my ability to hold it for an extensive amount of time. I would convince everyone, myself included, that I was having fun.

So, Is it me? Am I an uncoordinated nervous giraffe on wheels with no hope of becoming a professional iceskater / ammateur rollerblader / stunt cyclist?

The answer is very likely yes. But maybe a reason why I’ve never known the answer is because of the dialogue I’ve heard from others and repeated to myself. “I’m not good at that” is an excuse I’ve used whilst visualising the countless ways I could be injured if I don’t ‘watch myself‘. And yet, there have been times —not many, but still— there have been occassions where I’ve surprised myself and thought ‘actually, maybe I am okay at this’.

One of those times was when I was 20 and went to my first ‘Rollerskating Diner’ in Los Angeles (an outing alien to a girl who grew up in the Irish countryside). It was like I entered a scene from a 70’s movie: disco ball spinning, a mixture of age groups rollerskating around to Friday night beats.

The nerves kicked in as I skated onto the floor and instinctively grabbed the railing. Then I realised the railing wasn’t actually my friend as I was performing much worse than before. Actually, I wasn’t performing at all. Just as I was about to lose my footing, a little girl confidently skated past, with Halo by Beyonce casually playing in the background. She hovered around me gracefully like a professional from Swan Lake synchronising to Beyonce’s angelic voice. I was awaiting brutal judgement until she said:

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it eventually!”

And she kept on moving.

Those words from an encouraging kid not only made me laugh, but they changed everything. Instead of resenting my parents for not bringing me skating as a child, I decided to be okay with looking like a child and letting go of the railing. I decided to keep on moving.

I didn’t become a confident skater after that encounter, but I challenged a fear that existed in my head, remembering it’s a ‘good kind of scary’. And I ACTUALLY ENJOYED MYSELF even if I fell a couple of times and bumped into a few people.

So, if you feel like giving up after falling flat on your ass while subconsciously muttering ‘watch yourself’, try replacing those anxiety-inducing words with:

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it eventually!”

Then keep on moving.