Memories of Megan: "The Poseur"
by Meg W.

I remember I got my first skateboard when I was 13 years old. I had worked the summer doing odd jobs and other menial work for a couple people in my neighborhood. By the end of the summer I had raised 200 dollars for the new board that I had been coveting the last 6 months. The year was '94 and about the same time that skateboarding had become insanely popular. Every little boy in my school had his own skateboard and a pair of Airwalks that his mother had bought him.

I remember from the beginning I skated alone; I never really made a point of being alone, it's just how things turned out. I guess I've always seen skating as an individual effort. I remember skating everyday in the parking lot next to my house. I remember attempting to 180 out of an axle stall and spraining my ankle. I remember a constantly bruised shin from failed kickflips. I remember every body knee and every scraped palm. I remember getting up, and trying again after each bail. I remember having fun.

Within the next few wintery months, things at school began to change at school. I remember getting hassled by all the boys at school. I remember being ostracized by other skateboarders just like me. Possibly a dislike based on me being a girl (and skating), me being a sort of loner from the group, or for maybe not wearing the right shoes or clothing. I'll never know; when you're being chased home there's really not enough time to stop and ask questions. But, what ever the reason was, it pushed the force inside my brain to skate even more. I still had fun. I remember perseverance, and determination.

Now I'm 19 years old and just getting back into skating (11th grade ankle injury, I had to call it quits for a while) I'm currently re-learning everything ( working on kickflips, and such, hehe) I skate almost everyday. Everyday I bail, and get back up. I have fun. I'll never go pro, I have no desire to do so. I live day by day, and set my personal goals day by day. Like I mentioned before skating is an individual effort. I guess it's funny how some things can go unchanged for so long.