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*Scroll to the right and down, then scroll back to the left to view my whole Padlet!!!

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*Scroll to the right and down, then scroll back to the left to view my whole Padlet!!!

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"All of us, I suppose, like to believe that in a moral emergency we will behave like the heroes of our youth, bravely and forthrightly, without thought of personal loss or discredit."

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"All of us, I suppose, like to believe that in a moral emergency we will behave like the heroes of our youth, bravely and forthrightly, without thought of personal loss or discredit."

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-Things They Carried p. 37

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After testing up through the senior freestyle level, and essentially finishing up my skating career, I decided that I did not want to leave the rink behind entirely. So in order to stay involved, while also giving back to the skating community, I began teaching in the Learn To Skate Program at Colonial Figure Skating Club. Volunteering has allowed me to pass on my love of skating to the young children that I have had the privilege of teaching. This specific piece of the sport has shown me a lot about giving back. It has made me a more generous and charitable person in my day-to-day life, and has given me a more mentoring, patient, and sympathetic personality. This teaching experience and position of leadership has made me more capable in listening and guiding people through their problems. My experience in the program when I was younger has also helped me to convey the message that if the children stick with it, it will all get easier over time and they can achieve anything that they set their minds to.

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My Thanks to Doctor Micheli

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I am Boston, that is my home.

I will always carry it in my heart, no matter where I go.

My family has supported me, no matter what I do.

I will carry them always, the way they have carried me too.

I am a skater, it has gotten me through

the toughest of times, injuries too.

I will carry it always, as a part of me.

No matter where I go, I will remember the things I learned I could do.

I am a student, who works very hard.

To make good grades, so I can go far.

I will carry determination to college, no matter where I go.

It is part of who I have become.

I am a compassionate person,

I care about those around me.

I pick them up when they fall, no matter what will happen,

much like my parents have done for me.

I will study in college, so I can become

the caring doctor I would love to be.

To help others around me would be a dream come true,

I will work to achieve that goal, no matter what I do.

I am a friend.

I have many people who care about me, as I care about them.

I will carry their friendships for the rest of my life,

no matter where I go, because they are part of me.

I am simple, living an average life.

It is the things that I carry that make me unique.

I will value them always, thanking them for

the things they have given me to help me go far.

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My neighbor once told me a very similar version of this quote, and it has stuck in my head ever since.

I have historically had a habit of thinking "long-term," meaning that I sometimes focus too much on the future and forget that in order to get there, I must first complete the task at hand. With college coming up quickly, it has been extremely hard for me to take every day as a step on a longer journey, so when I begin to feel stressed, it usually helps me to calm down by thinking of this quote.

To have a future planned, you must take every day, week, month, and year as a small piece of a bigger picture. But by looking too far into the future, it is easy to get overwhelmed. So, I have been trying to tell myself that I will never be able to reach my full potential as a student, professional, and family member if I cannot learn to have a little fun every once in a while, whether it is going out with a friend or just watching a movie with my parents.

The message of this quote has become central to my life with all of the journeys that I have already taken, as well as the many more to come as I travel through my life.

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I am so thankful to have been blessed with the family that I have. No matter what happens in our lives, we can always be sure that we will tackle it together, which is something that I am so happy about.

I am so thankful to have such a strong relationship with my parents because through the many ups and downs that life has handed us, we have always stuck together and supported each other. They have become my biggest supporters in everything that I do, and I could not imagine going through the journey of life without them by my side!

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Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to maintain steady friendships with a large number of my friends from skating. Throughout our many years together, we have become so close that I consider them to be my "second family." I am so lucky to have them in my life, and by my side no matter what.

It has been wonderful to have had the opportunity to build lasting relationships with these girls because I can be assured that no matter what stands in front of us, we will always have each other's backs. I am also thankful because I realize that this is not something that everyone gets to experience within their lifetime, and to have found this type of friendship so early in my life has helped to shape me into the caring person that I am today.

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A wise person once said that "everything happens for a reason." Ever since I crossed paths with Dr. Micheli, I have been a firm believer in this exact idea. When I first realized that I was going to be out of skating for eight months, I was devastated; I felt like my entire world was collapsing.

Now, years later, I have come to realize that only one small piece of my life was ending. Through my experiences at Boston Children's Hospital, alongside Dr. Micheli, my eyes were opened to so many new areas of life that I had never even thought about!

I developed a strong love for the thought of one day being able to help people, the same way that Dr. Micheli had helped me. I realized that my life would no longer be spent as the skater, but instead should be spent helping other child-athletes when they are injured. I realized that being a physician was all I could imagine myself doing in the future. My passion for medicine has continued to grow as I have continued my high school education, and I am so excited to have been given the opportunity to pursue a career in the medical field.

What had once seemed like the end of the world, was now only the beginning.

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Throughout the course of my life, I have become a very positive person, always looking for the silver lining in every situation. Now, looking back on the fateful events of my skating career, I truly believe that the cut to my achilles permanently changed my life.

I met Dr. Micheli shortly after the injury to my achilles. He was so compassionate and helped me work towards my goal of making it back onto the ice. After meeting with Dr. Micheli on a number of occasions, he instilled in me an inspiration to become a doctor, someone able to help children who are not able to help themselves. Every day, I think of what a privilege it would be to be able to work with sick children and be able to help them and their families in their darkest hours.

I truly believe that it is because of the discipline and perseverance that I learned throughout my years as a competitive figure skater, that I have become the person that I am today, as well as the person that I always strive to be.

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"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

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"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

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-Ernest Hemingway

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Throughout my life, I have looked up to my dad as a role model in both a family and professional setting. Being a captain in the Waltham Fire Department, I have always known him to be a fearless leader, putting his life on the line for people that he has never met. The way that he can willingly enter a burning building to save people in crisis has inspired me for my entire life. I also admire the way that he remains calm when faced with such an extreme emergency. He is a leader, someone so certain about every move he makes. All of these characteristics have brought him much success in the workplace, and have also allowed him to build lasting relationships with the other men on his crew.

My father has become my hero in many regards. Looking at him, I see the person I will always strive to be: loving, level headed, and courageous. Not only is he admirable in the workplace, but my father is a complete "family-man," putting my mom and me before everything (and everyone) else. For that, I cannot thank him enough. He has demonstrated how to perfectly juggle family and work, never showing any signs of work-related stress. The memories that we have made as a result will remain with all of us for the rest of our lives.

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I remember it like it was yesterday. The pop of my ankle. The slow motion of my neck as I turned to see the red mark and the blood dripping down my skate, slowly but surely.

It was two weeks before my first regional figure skating competition. I was ecstatic to finally be a part of such a large event, I was now one of the big kids!

I had been working really hard, training with such intensity, that I could taste victory. But on September 19, 2011, all of that changed...forever.

I was in a lesson with my coach Amy, preparing to do my program. She told me that it was time, so I skated out to the middle of the ice, waiting patiently for the music to start. As soon as I heard the familiar melody of my music, I began to lift away into that separate world that people go to when they skate. I easily went through the motions: spinning, jumping, as well as performing the intricate footwork that my muscles had memorized so easily.

But I had not gotten far before I noticed something. I was approaching the spot on the ice in between two of the circles, painted there for the hockey players. I could see out of the corner of my eye, a girl, Elizabeth C to be exact, barreling towards me. I could tell that she was moving quickly, too quickly for my liking; but I made a split second decision to throw myself into the air, jumping as planned to avoid my coach screaming at me for stopping to let Elizabeth go by. The irony of the situation is that Elizabeth should have stopped for me... I did have the right of way. But it was too late and what happened next threw me into a whirlwind of events that I will never forget.

The second that my blade hit the ice, I knew I was in trouble. I could feel the pop of my ankle as Elizabeth’s blade hit my skin. I looked down slowly, fearing what I was about to see. Sure enough, I could see the gradual flow of blood as it seeped over the top of my boot. Had my boot been one inch higher, she would have missed cutting me, and a coach would not be carrying me off the ice and onto the benches directly outside of the rink.

The next few minutes were blurred by a rush of coaches, friends, doctors all trying to help. As soon as I got off the ice, my other coach Kristen by my side, I heard a voice. It said steadily, “I am a doctor. Allow me to help.” He was so sure of what he was doing, I felt at ease being in his hands. He got me cleaned up and ready for the hospital. Meanwhile, Kristen was on the phone with my dad, explaining what had happened. What should have been a ten minute drive to the rink took him six in the frantic panic of the unfortunate event.

Next, thing I knew, I was in the emergency room at Emerson Hospital, waiting to be stitched up, my dad at my side. He did his best to crack jokes and lighten the mood as I remembered that any chance of competing was a long shot now.

That night I found myself with a lacerated achilles. I was devastated. As if withdrawal from the competition wasn’t bad enough, I could not even touch the ice for eight months. The recovery period was tiresome, and any free time I'd had before the accident was diverted to physical therapy and many, many doctors appointments. Through it all, I stayed strong, embracing every challenge that was put in my place. But as time went on, I realized what a blessing this event actually was. I never knew that such a misfortune could change my life in such an incredible way.

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"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth giving."

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"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth giving."

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-F. Scott Fitzgerald

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"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

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"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

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-Douglas Adams

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"...for they are, when the alarm goes off, almost the only examples of enthusiastic unselfishness to be seen on this land. They rush to the rescue of any human being, and count not the cost."

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"...for they are, when the alarm goes off, almost the only examples of enthusiastic unselfishness to be seen on this land. They rush to the rescue of any human being, and count not the cost."

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-Rosewater 266