Not so badass biker chick...

One of the years when I taught 6th grade in New York, we took the kids ice skating in Prospect Park. I made my way around tentatively, by holding onto kids who knew how to skate who wouls drag me around.. Eli Zhang, a student who made it his job to tell me if I had too much make-up on or not enough everyday, walked up to me as I stumbled in my skates and informed me, "Know why you can't ice skate? ... Because you're too afraid of falling". Oh Eli, if you only knew how much that line has stayed with me and resonated - how much of what I don't do is because of the risk of failure? And really how much is the fear of the fall worse than the fall? So this year I'm encouraging myself to take risks and try new things. Case in point: Vespa Lesson #1: Do not both accelerate and brake while going down a hill, or you will end up bruised, bandaged, and with the security guards at school deeply concerned... Me? I was so excited to fall down - now that it's out of the way I don't have to be afraid of what the fall will feel like and can move on! Lesson #2: The turn...