Personal History Statement

Personal History Statement

Yuhui An

There is no doubt that studying takes up most of my spare time through my undergraduate years, but rollerblading is the other most indispensable part. Rollerblading is my sport for life, the spirit behind rollerblading guides me to keep trying and never afraid of failure. Whenever I felt homesick or tired on my research paper, I go out and rollerblades to share my passion and having fun with other club members. Two hours of aerobic exercise always makes me feel refreshed and get new ideas on my research.

Self-learning on rollerblades is a milestone of my life, because it taught me to make tries and take risks. Raised by my grandparents with tremendous care, I was prohibited from anything with even a little unsafely possibility. But this situation was changed when I grew older. During my P.E final exam at my grade two I was so nervous that couldn’t even open my eyes whiles others were doing the long jump test. Undoubtedly, I failed that PE class. The terrible memory in that PE class was a nightmare kept knocking my head. ‘I have to be brave and to face challenges or I would achieve nothing in my entire life time’ I talked to myself. Rollerblading was my childhood dream. It was also the best way I could challenge myself, so I made up my mind to learn rollerblading. It seemed so easy to rollerblade while I searched for tutorials. However, when it came to me, learning how to control balance on rollerblades was the hardest task. I kept falling when I tried to stand up, because my legs couldn’t stop shaking. To say nothing about put my body forward and move each leg in sequence as shown on the video. I kept standing up and falling. I was able move my body forward a few feet successfully after a few tries. My willpower had never come that strong. For the entire afternoon, I kept skating and falling until I felt comfortable on my skates. My knees and elbows were hurt badly but the sense of achievement was memorable.

Rollerblading also expands my communication skills even across culture. The first month studying in the US was a torture, not only because of the challenging materials I learned from class, but more of loneliness. I have no families or friends in this new environment until I met Tyler Ellrich who brought me to the rollerblading club and met more hospitable people. Almost every weekend when classes and assignments are finished, I spent time with our club members to skate and share our personal views on culture and politics. These cultural experiences helped me to communicate and make more friends with different cultural and educational background.

Thanks to rollerblading, for now, I strongly believe that there is no short cut leading to success, because the only way to success is to keep trying and learn from failure. With this faith in mind, I am more than willing to face and solve obstacles during my researching and studying. My communication skill and unique cultural understanding will broaden my horizon in the accelerating globalization speed.