A Day for Cycling!
The day was clear, blue and crystal. The sun shone down yellow and warm. The east wind blew through the gaps of all matter, the heat evaporated in its efforts. I soared down the road, the wind in my hair, my hands on the handle of the cycle, the electric whirring it emitted maintaining a calming, constant count as the seconds flew by. My friends, screaming and giggling on their own bikes emerged from behind me, one on either side, shouting obscurities. They zoomed past, their smiling faces, dripping with sweet summer sweat. I could smell it in the air, the seasons changing, and I could smell the past begin to fade as I made space for the future to fill into my life. New! Bright! The green around me, the roads, even the concrete seemed endearing. I watched as their eyes shone with the exhilaration of the present, no worry, no school, no studies, just us. Just us in that moment. No one else has to exist, because we didn’t need anything else.
That was the first time I felt my age, doing things people my age should be doing. The first time I understood what people mean when they say ‘Golden Years’, everything seemed perfect in that moment. Like it could last forever, I wouldn’t mind living there! But I won’t. Because I trust that moments like these will come again. If I start to romanticise a moment in time, I won’t try again, to re-create it. Scared that the outcome won’t be the same as the first time. That I won’t feel the same freedom. That my awe will eventually fade. If I choose not to glamorise it, I decide that it’s an experience I want to have again, and I will make efforts to make sure it happens again. I will re-create that scene for myself. I won’t wait till another convenient opportunity comes along, I will create one for myself. By doing this, I expand my horizon, proving to myself that I am indeed a teenager. I deserve to make memories, and do activities that remind me of my purpose and childhood. I remind myself, that there is so much more to live for, but I can’t romanticise a moment in history, or one that hasn’t happened yet, or may never come. I can’t romanticise the past or the future. I can only create my present, and that’s all that’s important.
I started that day scared, but by the end, I didn’t want it to end, there will be another time, another day. You see, I didn’t know how to cycle all that well before that day, I had only bad experiences with cycling before that. Falling 3 times in the week I learned how to cycle on the same part of my knee. I decided to use an electric cycle and improve my balance before trying the normal one. I was nervous, unsure of myself, and doubting my ability to balance. By the end I knew the reason of my ‘inability’ to stay stable. I understood that it only had to do with the fear I had from past experiences. I now know that the past has nothing to do with the present, and old experiences are by-gones. By the end of the 2 hours, I was able to cycle on both the electric and normal cycle! I wasn’t scared anymore!
Only your present can decide your future, so be confident in the present. ‘Believe you can, and so you will!’ (Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt)
— Giaa-Marie Raj
P.S.: Hello everyone! Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been going through a Writer’s Block, but I think I’m slowly breaking through it. This format of writing was different from what I’ve written before. Not Poetry, not Prose, just my thoughts. Just observations. Pleeeaasseeee write to me in the comments with feedback, and your thoughts! :) Until Next Time!! ❤
