Editor’s note: Enumclaw Middle School students wrote essays about how places around the Plateau shaped their identity. Six essays have been selected to be published in the Courier-Herald at the end of the month, every other month; they have been minimally edited to retain the author’s voice. This is the fourth of the six essays.
“I bet I can go down that ramp,” I say to myself.
The ramp is the easiest and least steepest ramp at the Enumclaw skatepark. I could easily go down it on my scooter. But I’m not on my scooter, I’m on my rollerblades. And I don’t know if you’ve ever ridden rollerblades on a skatepark, but it is not fun to crash. The bruises last for weeks. Right when I’m about just to give up thinking about going down it, my twin brother Oli says, “ I bet you won’t go down that. You’re too scared.” I say, “ Wanna bet?” Then I commit. I fly down the ramp and celebrate my victory at high speeds, which was my mistake. My arms wheeled up and CRASH!
Let’s go back to the beginning. I’m riding my rollerblades, and Oli is on his scooter. We zoom through the 5-minute ride to get there, and I see it. The beautiful setting sun is lighting up the light grey concrete. The smell of freshly mowed grass surrounds me and the concrete structure. The sound of the scooter’s back wheels clipping the ramps makes us feel like we are at the Enumclaw Skatepark or the Dwight Garrison Park. Now, we are at the ramp I was talking about earlier.
I try to commit mentally, and my friend Levi Burt just tells me to do it. Then I do it; I’m flying down the ramp and then I crash. My head smacks against the pavement, and my hands scrape the rough sandpaper-like ground. But I’m only thinking about what would’ve happened if I wasn’t wearing a helmet.
After this, I always wear a helmet to the skatepark. Even if I am not on my rollerblades and I’m on much safer scooter, I wear a helmet. It’s paid off too! The numerous times I’ve crashed, or clumsily slipped off a ramp. I am always the kid who tells the younger kids that they should wear helmets. I was even more sure of myself when I heard about 13-year-old Berret Michael Wirth Crossley, a kid who had died at the Buckley Skatepark.
But the skatepark can be fun too. You learn from crashing and it teaches you to push your limits but not to go beyond them. The Enumclaw skatepark is one of my favorite places to hang out and have fun. There is always something going on, a birthday party or sometimes a day when a whole friend group comes.
The Enumclaw Skatepark is probably my favorite place in Enumclaw. The Enumclaw Skatepark community is awesome from letting other kids try scooters or buying them a snack from the gas station. One of the best parts is the fact that they are all around our age. The skatepark teaches us many things such as getting over fears, making friends, solving problems, and being safe( wearing a helmet). It has contributed to my identity by helping me learn to push through my fears.
