“Woah! Man, let go of me!” I screamed at the boy as he held onto me. Both of us fell down; I didn’t get mad at him - just laughed it off. David and Flor heard me.

Laughing, raising my head from the cold floor, I shouted, “Over here… I’m fine.”   The expressions on their faces weren’t of worry, but of sheer surprise. Quickly and swiftly, Flor made a 180 degree turn so fast she was a blur. Her light brown hair matched her caramel eyes, melting everyone who met her on the spot. Rolling to my aid, time around her seemed to never end. My heart was racing, punching my chest like a boxer.  My laughter covered the pain of the fall.

To think, all of this started with a simple thought, You should learn how to skate.

I never would have jumped at the idea of learning how to skate by myself, but somehow, my friends always knew how to take away my insecurities. Flor could have been a paid professional at that. She would always push to get us to do something risky, something that yet to be done. For me, it was skating and break dancing. As I lay on the hard-wooded floor, chills ran up my arm.

What in the world did I land on?  I slowly started to get up as David came to me helping me keep my balance.

“You should’ve stayed at the edge, like I told you to,” he started saying.

I remembered him saying something earlier, when we were first talking. That was not what he said. If I remember correctly, he said, “Don’t even try to skate!”

“Oh, well, thanks for the help.”

Flor rushed to me with a bright smile on her face, her hair was flowing with a gentle breeze and her laughter was like music to a child falling asleep. “See, wasn’t it worth the risk?”

“Maybe,” I muttered.

She quickly responded, “Come on, you know that was worth it!”

“Yes! It was ….Thanks,” I answered.

David added, “Take more risks, no matter what the case is… do it!”

After that I started to overcome my fear; not doing things for fear of humiliation. When I stood by my friends, my face lit up with a smile as big and bright as the sun. 

“Thanks for everything. I know you guys don’t know this, but you changed my life.”

Flor and David always knew me, I wasn’t outgoing. Now I am less fearful of exploring the unknown or hurting mysekf by falling.

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