Outside of school, I have been involved in lots of different activities, such as horseback riding, piano, classical reading and creative writing class. However, I am most passionate about horseback riding, my book discussion club, and my writing class.
Ever since I was little, I knew that I wanted go horseback riding—and I knew it is something i want to pursue in the long run. When I first fell off a horse, I was only about 6 years old. Everyone freaked out and came running towards me, but I stood up and got right back on the horse like nothing had happened. Everyone was shocked how I didn’t sit on the floor and burst into tears like any other six year-old. When I first chose to go horseback riding, I knew that even if you fall off, you need to get back up immediately and keep on pushing ahead.
When I was in Grade 3, my parents realized how passionate I was about horseback riding, so they decided to get me my very own pony. The excitement lasted for weeks and weeks; it felt like a dream come true. Getting my own pony was the motivation that made me work even harder. I entered my first dressage competition with that pony. Even though I didn’t win, I was still very happy and felt like I had accomplished something important.
My experiences with horseback riding were all positive until one moment changed everything. I was riding my hose and practicing my balance, when suddenly, a giant dog leaped over the fence and came sprinting into the arena. My horse freaked out and threw me off. I was able to stand up, but realized that my arm was in extreme pain. The pain was so bad that it felt like there were a thousand knives cutting through my bones. When I got to the hospital, the doctor told me that I had broken my arm. I couldn’t go horseback riding for four months.
But after those four months, I went back to the stable and got right back on the horse. My friends used to ask me why I would keep on riding after such a scare. I was terrified, but my passion for horseback riding was way bigger than my fear of falling off and hurting myself again. Even though I went back on the horse and stayed strong, things didn’t go exactly as I expected. Another accident occurred when I was ten years old that prevented me from riding for two years.
After the summer break, I decided to take a writing class. This class was different than the book discussion class, as you listened to the teacher speak about writing and then you wrote your own essay based on the tips she gave. At first, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy the class because it was too structured. But after I took a couple of classes, I realized that I really enjoyed it. We learned different types of essay like comparative writing, and I most enjoy creative writing. Creative writing deeply interests me, because I think it’s fun to use my imagination to craft my own story. This class gave me the motivation to keep on writing stories. Even though life can be busy, I always find time to curl up in a cozy space and continue writing.
In the past, when I played piano pieces, my right hand could play it perfectly, but my left hand lagged behind. When I injured my right arm, I had to use my left arm to do everything. At first, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to play piano anymore, but my teacher thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to practice with my left hand. She assigned me music that was composed to be played with one hand. At first, I struggled a lot—but slowly, my left hand started to get stronger and stronger. By the time my right arm healed completely, my left hand could already play just as well as my right. This incident made me realize that good can come out of everything that we experience, even if we don’t see it at first. If I didn’t break my right arm, my left hand would never be able to improve that quickly.
Although my injury has prevented me from doing physical activities, I am still able to find other things to do that I also enjoy. I am looking forward to the day when my leg fully recovers, then I will go riding once again. But for now, I am happy and excited to try out different activities that I didn’t get to do these past few years.