2023 was a special year for me. it was the year I made my first Longtrack Junior World Team, the year I qualified for the 2024 Gangwon Youth Olympics, and the year I experienced my first true burnout. reflecting on everything that has happened this year, I realized I would change a thing. Every experience I went through this year has taught me life lessons that I will never forget, but more importantly, 2023 has provided me with memories I will cherish and reflect on with a sense of gratitude.
In January, I became the Junior National Champion for my age group and qualified for my first Junior World Team. This was a surreal feeling, and I can still feel the ghost of the adrenaline rush I felt after finishing my last race. I went into the season sick after just having a kidney stone, so qualifying for the team was something I had only dared to dream of, making it all the sweeter.
In February, I competed at the Junior World Cup Final and Junior World Championships in Inzell, Germany. This experience was precious, not only because I came out of the competition as the Vice Junior World Champion in the Team Pursuit at only 15 years old and earned funding time in my last race, but because I learned how to be a good roommate, and how to live with someone who did not particularly enjoy my presence, despite being 3 years older than me. After coming home, I competed in Pack Nationals and walked away with 3 National Records and a 1st place medal.
The months between March and June were a blur of studying and volunteering. It was one of the most stressful periods of my life, studying for 5 APs while playing catchup after missing nearly a month of school. I managed to pull through and end the school year on a high note, but mentally and emotionally I was not at my strongest. From this period I learned to be more grateful for my parents as they sacrificed a lot of time and energy for me to allow me to participate in the activities I do.
The summer was filled with laughter and sunshine. I learned what a real sunburn felt like, (0/10 do not recommend) and I enjoyed my freedom from school while diving deeper into my studies surrounding prosthetics and biomedical engineering. In August, I was a counselor at a summer camp designed for children with physical disabilities. I gained experiences and a new range of emotions that made me grateful for my healthy body and allowed me to gain a newfound respect for those who deal with physical disabilities.
This is where things go downhill. Between August and November, I spent this time trying to rehabilitate my body after burning myself out and severely overtraining my body. While I did manage to qualify for the Youth Olympics despite my unfortunate condition, I lost my mojo. All the hard work I had put into my skating over the summer had vanished. My strength had disintegrated, and my mindset had crumbled. I doubted myself before every race, and this negativity started impacting my school work. I lost my motivation, and it felt as if my life was spiraling out of control.
Luckily, I had my mom. My mom and I came up with a new training plan that would allow me to slowly rebuild my stamina while simultaneously allowing my muscles to recover. I started swimming 3 times a week, cycling 2 times a week, and skating 4 times a week. We were slowly ramping up the effort, and I believe that this is what helped dig me out of the rut I had been stuck in for months. I stayed patient and remembered why I started skating in the first place.
Now it is the end of December, and I am not sure how much I have improved from the beginning of my burnout, but I do know that I love my sport, and I would do anything to be able to continue skating. I don’t know how my upcoming junior world and senior world cup trials will go, but I am proud of the progress I have made in both my physical development and mental development, and that is what matters.
Wish me luck, and Happy New Year to all!! 🥇🎉
