They say you should never stop learning. I agree wholeheartedly, especially when it comes to writing. But I never imagined that at the age of 62, I'd get my most important writing lesson from a 21-year-old figure skater.
The skater? None other than the newest Olympic gold medalist in women's figure skating, Alysa Liu.
If you watched any of the women's figure skating this year, then Alysa's story should already already familiar to you. Originally from Oakland, California, Alysa became the youngest U.S. champion ever in 2919 at the age of 13. She placed 6th at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 and won bronze at the world championship that same year.
But she quickly burned out. Skating just wasn't fun anymore. And so, at the age of 16, she quit.
The break did her good. She went skiing. She traveled. She spent time with friends. She did all the things she hadn't had time for when skating was her entire life.
Two years later, she was ready to return to the ice. Only this time, she did it on her terms. She chose her own music. She chose her own costumes. She developed her own choreography. But more importantly, she was more relaxed about it all, following a training routine that was more collaborative with her coaches and placed her mental health first.
When she took to the ice in Milan, the difference was obvious. Technically, she was as sharp as she could be, making no mistakes during either her short or long program. She skated with ease, gliding across the ice like she was born to it. But most importantly, she skated with joy. For her entire performance, she could not stop smiling.
Even after she was done skating and was waiting to see how her two final competitors fared, she kept smiling. It didn't matter to her if she won gold. It didn't matter to her if she placed at all. She had done what she came to the Olympics to do. And that was to have fun.
She won the gold, of course. Not by training harder than anyone else. Not by wanting it more. She won it because she loved what she was doing.
I often forget that when I'm writing. I get so wrapped up in making sure the words flow, the characterizations are consistent, and the story logic make sense, that I lose sight of why I started writing in the first place. To have fun.
So I've vowed that, going forward, I'm going to follow Alysa's example. I'm going to focus on my love of writing and not so much on the hard stuff. I hope it'll make my writing better. I know it'll make it more fun.
And no, there may not be any gold medals in playwriting. But there is something more important.
Joy.
