In the Winter Olympics, 19-year-old Alyssa Liu achieved a huge victory in figure skating for the United States, becoming the first skater to win the gold in 24 years. The surprising thing is, Alyssa Liu had retired from skating at the age of 16, as she wanted to live a normal life and pursue college exploration activities. This moment was inspiring because it showed how valuable freedom of expression is.
From Alyssia Liu we are learning the importance of putting your mental health first. She only came back to skating after insisting on doing things her own way. She mentioned she’s eating better and she wanted to pursue other passions outside of skating. She’s no longer drained or trying to compete because she’s found love for skating. Coming back, Alyssa Liu set some requirements for her coaches and father. “I get to pick my own program music, I get to help with the creative process.”
It’s common for female figure skaters to be on harsh diets to look physically appealing. Alyssa Liu didn’t want this: “No one’s gonna starve me, tell me what I can and cannot eat,” she said.” Social media tends to encourage people to fit an ideal body type. This affects people who consume social media, both women and men. They begin to question if they should go on stricter diets or spend an excessive amount of time at the gym just to look how society believes they should. Alyssa Liu is a model of how to fight these harsh standards.
Being in high school you hear people question if they want to go to college or feel bad if they don’t have a perfect 90. Instead of being fixated on the way the numbers change on Jupiter (our grading system), it’s okay to find passion outside of school that truly brings you joy. Maybe you don’t want to go to college and prefer trade school. Maybe after high school you want to take a year to yourself. There’s no shame in figuring out what you love, to make sure you’re valuing your mental health. Exploring as much of life as you can before knowing what you truly want is perfectly fine. It doesn’t make you a villain or a quitter. It means you’re human and humans weren’t meant to find their gift right away.
