Breakaway

harbinger

harbinger (n): one that initiates a major change; a person or thing that originates or helps open up a new activity, method, or technology.

Olivia

Seattle is known for its cloudy skies and rainy days. And Starbucks, of course. I will admit that it does rain here often, but there's also many warm, enjoyable days during the summer. Some days it's 80 degrees and I even want to jump in the ocean. Well- maybe if there weren't sharks.

Today is one of those warm, sunny days. However, I'm currently pulling my sleeves over the palms of my hands and holding back shivers. In the ice hockey arena- as you can imagine- it's not very warm. Today, I'm starting my second year of teaching Kiddie Skate. You'd think I'd have learned by now that I need a jacket on the ice, but this summer has been so nice, I guess I forgot how cold it really gets in here.

It's 2:30 in the afternoon now, so my new class should be arriving soon for our 3 o'clock lesson. I do a few laps around the rink for the first time this season. Seattle Pacific University closes the rink all summer, so I wasn't able to get any skating in.

The movement gets my heart rate going and brings a bit of warmth to my body. I let out a deep breath and close my eyes, feeling the cool breeze on my cheeks. Ice skating has always helped me relax and made me feel at ease. With the stress of my university studies and life in general, I'm so grateful that I've found a way to escape. My mom taught me to skate when I was a little girl and I've loved it ever since.

After about fifteen minutes of circling around on the ice, my little students start arriving. The Kiddie Skate group that I teach is for pre-schoolers, meaning three and four year olds. For most of them, today will be the first time they ever put on a pair of skates.

I step out of the rink and close the board door around me so that none of the kiddos can make a break for the ice.

"Hello, class! We are actually going to be starting off of the ice today. If you could all follow me around the corner we will step into the lobby and start lacing up our skates!" I say happily in a kid-friendly voice.

I lead the kiddos and their parents to the rink lobby and allow them to take a seat on the benches.

"How are you all doing today?" I grin.

"Good!" a few of the littles yell.

"I'm hungry!" one of the boys says loudly. I giggle and his mom shushes him.

"My name is Miss Olivia and it is so nice to meet all of you!" My baby voice comes out strong when I'm talking to young kids. When I first started teaching last year, I was a bit embarrassed to talk like this in front of the parents, but now I'm used to it and try not to let my nerves get the best of me.

While the adults help their pre-schoolers lace up their skates, I tell them a little bit about me, "Like I said, my name is Miss Olivia. I am a Junior here at Seattle Pacific University, and I am studying to become a teacher! That's how I ended up here with you today!"

I know that the attention spans of three and four year olds aren't very long, so I don't say much else for now. We then go around the group, which consists of 5 kids, and they each tell me their names and their favorite colors. Their parents also introduce themselves, but they decide not to include their favorite colors in their own introductions.

"Okay, really quickly before we start, we have to talk about something that will keep us safe. We absolutely can not touch the bottom of our skates! They are very sharp and might hurt our skin if we touch them, okay?"