GRF Sam took us to Lynah Rink to ice skate recently; I was very excited, since I hadn’t skated for quite a while. I had gone ice skating maybe four times total beforehand, and I had improved to the point that I could skate without having to remain near the rink’s edge at all. Unfortunately, the first thing I noticed when I put on the figure skates this time was that they were unbearably tight. I figured that once I was on the ice and got moving, it would feel more natural and perhaps more secure for it to be so tight. Unfortunately, things only got worse from there. Every skate-stroke (step? glide?) hurt my shins and foot-arches to the point where I had to get off the rink after only ten minutes of skating. This was a huge step down from where I had been before–skating for hours with no breaks. I was really disappointed that I seemed to have worsened.

This experience of worsening in a skill that I had beforehand been steadily progressing in was at first disheartening. However, I decided to look at it in the perspective that it should be looked at in: learning. Whether we are learning a new skill, a new subject, or a new anything, we should not expect our progress to always be linear. We will do better at some times and worse at others: it’s all part of the process. This is a mentality I’ve been trying to enforce in all aspects of my life (especially with classes), and it’s taught me to value growth and determination rather than a pure results oriented approach. I’m hoping this perspective can encourage me, as well as others, to not be discouraged by little setbacks while in the process of learning.