Sparkle…

In the closed Facebook Group for Calligraphers, the prompt this week was “Sparkle”. We were asked to do something with glitter or that added sparkle to our work. It made me think of my early teen years when I would go roller skating with my friends. Disco music was all the rage. So I created this fun word collage as if I were back in Social Studies class doodling through my boredom. It reminded me of something I would have drawn on the back on my spiral bound notebook while dreaming of skating. Covered in glitter and silly pink markers.

There was an older high school girl who always skated at the same rink and she had her own pink roller skates with a pink and white pompom, bright pink wheels, and glitter laces. She could skate and turn and swirl, always looked amazing, and in my eyes she had everything you needed to be cool at the roller rink. She danced across the floor and never sat alone during couples skate. Watching her gave me hope that time and life could be kind, and nerds could transform into dancing butterflies on pink skates.

As I grew up some of my fondest times with friends were those evenings at the roller rink. The world outside did not exist, and I could be goofy or cool, have fun and hold hands with anyone in order to stay moving forward to the rowdy, loud, disco dance tunes. My parents would drop me off and pick me up hours later. They never questioned who I was with or wondered if I would be there all night. They knew I was where I said I would be, and they knew who I was spending my energy on. It was innocent, clean, energetic fun and I was growing up without even knowing it. I was learning to be myself whether I fell on my butt or skated every skate until a blister appeared. I never had my own skates, I only remember renting skates; no pink and white pom poms for me. Yet I had fun and skated myself into the starring role of every song, screaming the words out loud at the top of my lungs while the entire rink was watching. My confidence grew and my self esteem solidified. I learned that I could be anyone I wanted, that my real friends would be goofy and fun with me, and that the older perfect girls had problems just like me. All that from the word ‘sparkle’.

What teen memory helped you become more of yourself during your award teenage years? Pink glitter and disco music were an integral part of my teen years. I’m not sure I could skate much now, but I know I would have fun trying.