I have to hand in an essay for LA. It has to be something that changes ones life. I naturally chose unicycling, for the obvious reason that I won’t have kids (joking). Feel free to copy for later homework.
PERSONAL ESSAY 10-1
I have always loved to try things that many would never even dream of. My latest weird passion is unicycling. Judging from the shocked expressions of passers-by, the sport is not very common.
A year ago, when summer finally came around after a tedious year at school, I decided that I was going to save my money and learn how to unicycle. How or why I got this idea is still quite a mystery; I just felt like it. It took me a day of phoning different bike stores and conversing with voice breaking teenagers to finally locate one. It was, in hindsight, a piece of junk, but it served my purpose for a while. I couldn’t really complain; it was only fifteen hours of sweated labor. It was, in my eyes, the coolest thing that I had ever seen. It was all black, with a fat knobby tire. The seat was curved, and surprisingly comfy for my delicates. “M-uni” was emblazoned in bold white print on both sides of the frame. M-uni is an acronym for Mountain-Unicycling, a growing sport. The object of m-uni is to go off ledges, ride down steep rocky hills, and ride over slimy roots, etc. The sport is essentially like mountain biking, but with the added challenge of riding on one wheel. The champion and founder of m-uni, is Kris Holms, a unicycling fanatic who has pushed the boundaries for almost two decades. He has successfully landed a fourteen-foot drop, and has won every m-uni competition held so far.
Learning to ride a unicycle is incredibly frustrating. It takes hours of getting on and falling off to finally ride a few feet. It takes from five minutes to fifteen hours of hard practice to be able to successfully keep your balance. Most people get the knack in around five hours, and I was no exception. Guided by an online website, I strived just to be able to get on the thing. Riding a unicycle is very peculiar, and it takes some time to get accustomed. On a normal bike you can only lose your balance sideways. A unicycle is much more precarious; you can fall in any direction. An inexperienced rider can be easily “UPDed”, (bailing in unicycle jargon) by any bump that they may encounter.
After reading several tutorials, I was ready to begin practice. It took me long hours of trial and error, and even the drizzling weather couldn’t stop me. I used my parents’ car to get myself steadied as I prepared to ride unassisted. I subsequently fell over and over again as soon as my hand left the vehicle. I was growing rather angry and impatient, when something clicked and registered in my brain. I still remember the ecstasy when I rode a few feet. The feeling was amazing, and I wanted more of it. Shortly after, I successfully rode down my street. I week later, I made it down to my local Blockbusters without falling once. I had accomplished a goal that most people would never try. The next step to mastery was to be able to “free mount”, a term used by unicycists to get going unassisted by any handhold; in my case, the car. This took me much longer than I had expected. When I got on, I always seemed to lose my balance, and crashed. I hurt myself aplenty; having sharp metal pedals slam into my shin, often drawing blood, and somehow misplacing my delicates so they got badly squished, making me writhe on the ground until the pain subsided. These occurrences only made the victory sweeter when it came about. After around three hours of painful practice, I was able to mount one time out of ten. A few more bloody bouts and crushed appendices and I was able to get on every time.
A month along, I was quite comfortable riding. I could stop and go with unconscious ease. I found myself craving for more; I decided that it was time to learn how to ride backward. It didn’t take much time at all, it was, as you can probably imagine, just like riding forward. Late one night, alas, I decided to have a little practice before I went to bed. After warming up, I decided that I would try to unicycle as fast as I could backwards. The idea was not a very good one. I went a few feet, peddling madly and completely out of control, hit a little bump in the middle of the road and subsequently flew, turning in midair to land with considerable momentum on my right arm. I crawled home, in a daze, my unicycle left forgotten on the road. My mother drove me to the hospital and I returned home a few hours late plus a cast and lollipop but minus some skin and dignity.
I learnt that if you are motivated enough to accomplish something, anything is possible. Despite discouraging moments, it will come to you eventually. And don’t expect it to come without a price, may it be time, money, injury, or in my case, all three. Learning how to unicycle has taught me so much about pushing boundaries, perseverance, and eventual success. It has given me more confidence to take on other challenges that life may bring me.
I know that the last few sentences were incredibly pompous; it’s what my teacher likes so, tsall cool 