The Dreaded Axel- Using Figure Skating to Understand Transition

For those of you who don't know, I used to be a figure skater. For about ten years, it was what my entire life revolved around. I would wake up at 5am and my wonderful mother would drive me to the rink so that I could practice before school. After being in class all day, I would be right back at the rink for another few hours of practice and conditioning. And on weekends, you could usually find me at a competition- dressed up in a sequined costume skating a routine I'd done a thousand times to try and win a medal.

What does this have to do with the fact that I moved to go to grad school, you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my mom on the phone, telling her how frustrated I was that I hadn't gotten into the swing of things yet. I still didn't know how to get to work without a map, much less anywhere else (it took me an hour to get to Target, when actually it's about fifteen minutes away!), I hadn't figured out what I was doing in my job yet, and I didn't have that core group of friends I was used to relying on. She stopped me and said, "Oh you'll be okay, it's just like when you couldn't get your axel!" I was so confused at first until she explained what she meant- that I just had to think about this transition in terms of practicing for something that was harder than I thought and getting used to a new skill. Let me explain. The axel is a very hard jump for beginning figure skaters- it is a skill that usually takes an average of a year to land perfectly. For ten-year-old me, I was unbelievably anxious to get this jump under my belt. I would practice every single day, thinking that if I just tried it a few more times, surely I would land it. This usually resulted in a few dozen bruises and even a few tears. But I was so impatient and absolutely determined to get it, no matter how long it took. My coach would always remind me of the old adage, "slow and steady wins the race", and she was right. Instead of being frustrated with the fact that I wasn't getting it right away, I had to stop and realize that it was probably going to take time. With steady determination and a little bit of patience, I eventually mastered it. And the feeling of landing that axel after working on it for so long was that much more worth it than if I had landed it after a day!

I couldn't help but think that my mom was right- this transition is like trying to land that axel. It's taking me a lot longer than I thought to settle in and find my rhythm than I first expected. With "adaptability" being one of my strengths, I assumed it would be a breeze to get down here and immediately know what I was doing. When it didn't turn out that way, I became frustrated with myself, thinking that maybe I was doing something wrong. But when I stopped to think about it, I realized it is going to take time. I need to put a little bit of effort every day into what I want to get out of this- whether it's driving around to explore the city, calling new friends to hang out, or finding new opportunities to be involved with at work- and eventually these will all come together to make the experience I expected to have when I imagined this year.

And with a few bruises, some tears, and hopefully amazing new experiences, I will eventually land that axel all over again...and it's going to be so worth that wait!