Student_Voice : Falling forward
Published: 24 Feb. 2026, 00:05
Haeun Shin
The author is a student at Fayston Preparatory of Suji.
As I skated around the ice rink in Suji, I felt like I’d been hit by a wrecking ball. My aching legs wanted my other body parts to collaborate in their plan to lie down. Whenever I tried a simple spin, I fell. One skate always seemed to be inconveniently placed in front of the other.
“Mom, I want to skip figure skating today,” I said.
Disappointingly, she replied, “Ella, you should keep trying. You’ll get better at skating. You’ll see.”
I trudged grumpily back onto the ice. Despite all my efforts over the past two years, I still stumbled whenever I tried to complete a turn or spin. A fragment of ice I’d tripped over seemed to be staring up at me very pitifully.
![Training during a regular practice session at the skating rink. [HAEUN SHIN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/24/30d090e3-c6ba-453e-aca2-b5e102dd7f85.jpg)
Outside the ice rink, my teacher asked me to show her my legs. I slowly pivoted until she could see my jellyfish-like legs. She nodded suspiciously. “Alright, you’re dismissed now.” I scampered over to my mother’s seat and took off my skates. I was worried about why my teacher asked me to check my legs. Was something wrong with me?
A bit later, my teacher came over and whispered to my mother about my skating progress. The problem was that I had a bent foot position. When I tried to put my knees together, I couldn’t quite do it. My ankle was tilting the wrong way. This caused me to be in an imbalanced posture.
Even though I did not give up, as each class went by, my hope started wavering. My dream was to be at the highest level of skating, a level 8 figure skater by 2038. A few times a week, I would go to a glimmering lake and skate my routine. I would jump into the clear air and spin three and a half times. Then I would hold my leg straight up and spin like a graceful crane… but that was just my dream. Would it ever be real?
The next class, when I left the ice rink, my mother ran up to me and showed me her phone screen. It was a cure! I had to wear orthotic insoles, which are like bulky foot pads, for a full month. They were extremely uncomfortable; it felt like wearing rubber sandals inside my shoes. But when I wore them at school or wandering around a department store, I noticed I could walk straight.
In the weeks that followed, the effects showed gradually. My bent feet began to transform. My knees started recovering from the torment of falling over repeatedly. Eventually, my legs became straight.
We rarely find ourselves on smooth paths leading to success. Usually, there are cliffs to climb. My path was steep and looked impossible, but once I got through the hard part, I could skate on the flat ice — without falling down.
![Competing in the figure skating promotion test at Mokdong Ice Rink. [HAEUN SHIN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/24/bca6bc81-6264-4066-802e-bd7cf63e1aa4.jpg)
When I skate now, I’m thankful to all the people who helped me along the way. I can still hear the voices of my parents saying, “Ella, you can do it.”
And I hear my teacher’s patient tone. “It’s okay, don’t worry — get up and let’s try again!”
I even hear the chatter of my friends: “Ella, oh my god! Really? How many bruises? Wooowwww!”
Their jokes put me in a good mood after the long days of training.
Everybody reading this has had an experience like mine. It was difficult. We kept falling. But we got back up. We kept trying until we succeeded.
Now, I can stand on a single blade and spin in place, whirling so fast that I can barely see my teacher.
The author is a student at Fayston Preparatory of Suji.
As I skated around the ice rink in Suji, I felt like I’d been hit by a wrecking ball. My aching legs wanted my other body parts to collaborate in their plan to lie down. Whenever I tried a simple spin, I fell. One skate always seemed to be inconveniently placed in front of the other.
“Mom, I want to skip figure skating today,” I said.
Disappointingly, she replied, “Ella, you should keep trying. You’ll get better at skating. You’ll see.”
I trudged grumpily back onto the ice. Despite all my efforts over the past two years, I still stumbled whenever I tried to complete a turn or spin. A fragment of ice I’d tripped over seemed to be staring up at me very pitifully.
Training during a regular practice session at the skating rink. [HAEUN SHIN]
Outside the ice rink, my teacher asked me to show her my legs. I slowly pivoted until she could see my jellyfish-like legs. She nodded suspiciously. “Alright, you’re dismissed now.” I scampered over to my mother’s seat and took off my skates. I was worried about why my teacher asked me to check my legs. Was something wrong with me?
A bit later, my teacher came over and whispered to my mother about my skating progress. The problem was that I had a bent foot position. When I tried to put my knees together, I couldn’t quite do it. My ankle was tilting the wrong way. This caused me to be in an imbalanced posture.
Even though I did not give up, as each class went by, my hope started wavering. My dream was to be at the highest level of skating, a level 8 figure skater by 2038. A few times a week, I would go to a glimmering lake and skate my routine. I would jump into the clear air and spin three and a half times. Then I would hold my leg straight up and spin like a graceful crane… but that was just my dream. Would it ever be real?
The next class, when I left the ice rink, my mother ran up to me and showed me her phone screen. It was a cure! I had to wear orthotic insoles, which are like bulky foot pads, for a full month. They were extremely uncomfortable; it felt like wearing rubber sandals inside my shoes. But when I wore them at school or wandering around a department store, I noticed I could walk straight.
In the weeks that followed, the effects showed gradually. My bent feet began to transform. My knees started recovering from the torment of falling over repeatedly. Eventually, my legs became straight.
We rarely find ourselves on smooth paths leading to success. Usually, there are cliffs to climb. My path was steep and looked impossible, but once I got through the hard part, I could skate on the flat ice — without falling down.
Competing in the figure skating promotion test at Mokdong Ice Rink. [HAEUN SHIN]
When I skate now, I’m thankful to all the people who helped me along the way. I can still hear the voices of my parents saying, “Ella, you can do it.”
And I hear my teacher’s patient tone. “It’s okay, don’t worry — get up and let’s try again!”
I even hear the chatter of my friends: “Ella, oh my god! Really? How many bruises? Wooowwww!”
Their jokes put me in a good mood after the long days of training.
Everybody reading this has had an experience like mine. It was difficult. We kept falling. But we got back up. We kept trying until we succeeded.
Now, I can stand on a single blade and spin in place, whirling so fast that I can barely see my teacher.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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