Spinning Another Way

It’s time to talk.

If you ever watch figure skating, you probably don’t notice (unless you’re a skater) that most skaters jump and spin counterclockwise— and then a few lefties sprinkled in who rotate and spin clockwise. Not me. As a little girl learning to skate, I learned to jump counterclockwise. Then my instincts kicked in and led me to spin to the left-- clockwise. Basically, I’ve jumped one way and spinned the other since the beginning. I’ve been an anomaly in the figure skating world, leaving everyone scratching their chins when they realize my confusing ambidextrous tendencies.

My spinning in another direction on the ice has become the direction my life has taken-- an amazing, baffling, painful and sometimes crazy journey. I was a National Champion figure skater, gone through break-ups, multiple jobs, lived in a big city and moved to a small island in the middle of the Pacific—and I’m here to talk about it.  Behind the lens of what people saw in my smiling podium pictures or even nights out with friends in San Francisco—there has been a great deal of suffering. I suffered from an Eating Disorder for over 5 years, and I’m here to talk about it. I’ve gained perspective and wisdom, and I’m here to talk about it. I was always meant to go another direction. I’ve always Spinned Another Way.

“In my perception, the world wasn’t a graph or formula or equation. It was a story.” -Cheryl Strayed