{"id":18794,"date":"2013-11-04T14:27:36","date_gmt":"2013-11-04T19:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=18794"},"modified":"2013-11-05T09:38:35","modified_gmt":"2013-11-05T14:38:35","slug":"halloween-fight-or-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2013\/11\/04\/halloween-fight-or-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Halloween: Fight or Flight?"},"content":{"rendered":"When I think of Halloween, I think of a holiday based on horror. But a holiday based on tackling my fears? Not really. However, this year, I bit the bullet and decided to attend MoveU\u2019s Halloween event, Scary Skate. Yes, I took the name of this event quite literally; ice skating isn't exactly my forte.\r\n\r\n<figure style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/24.media.tumblr.com\/tumblr_mcqdv13yny1qcuxfvo1_500.gif\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">I\u2019d rather do this than skate. \u2013VIA SOULFULSOCK.TUMBLR.COM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nI know. Despite all the free skating, free rentals, free refreshments, all the free glory, I was still trying to find a way of getting out of the event. I mean, the weather was kind of rainy, and my common room was warm and cozy, and practically told me to sit on the couch and watch TV for the night. However, I knew that if I backed out, I would regret not giving myself a chance to try to tackle my fear. It\u2019s thrilling to take a few risks once in a while, and just remind myself what I can do. And again, the event was free, so there was nothing to lose.\r\n\r\nDespite the rainy weather, I walked to the Varsity Centre. Since \u201cfree\u201d is practically a magic word for the university student, and ice skating is (surprisingly, in my opinion) a harmlessly fun past-time for many people, Scary Skate was quite full, so I ended up having to wait for a while until I finally got to put on my skates. While waiting around with a few friends, I watched some students skate on the rink. There was one girl doing a triple axel, and two people were falling down repeatedly. I instantly knew who I was going to be when I hit the ice.\r\n\r\n<figure style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/24.media.tumblr.com\/a93a754c5cdb61ae9b456e6e6211a8b0\/tumblr_mrl7636myh1s8ggfko1_500.gif\" width=\"500\" height=\"260\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alright, show off.. \u2013FIGURESKATERXOX.TUMBLR.COM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nWhen I did get on the rink, let\u2019s just say that I spent the majority of the time grabbing on to the boards, while doing a little skating here and there. Most of my energy was spent on screaming or laughing every time I managed to skate free of my friends\u2019 arms or the boards. The thing about skating is that in order to balance, you need to have a strong core. Even though I barely skated without support, I managed to avoid falling face first onto the ice when I did let go. This feat, my dear readers, is probably due to my new found friendship with <a title=\"Practice, or Homework, Makes Perfect\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2013\/10\/21\/practice-or-homework-makes-perfect\/\">planking and the core strength I\u2019ve developed as a result!<\/a>\r\n\r\n<figure style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.chzbgr.com\/maxW500\/6099227904\/hB95E38CD\/\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Planking is a wonderful thing that will protect you from this. I think.. \u2013VIA SENIORGIF.COM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAfterwards, I decided to hit up Victoria College\u2019s Halloween pub night, instead of watching TV, because I felt energetic about the fact that I actually got on the ice. I wanted to reward myself. At the pub, I talked to my friend, <a title=\"Sweating: Another Thing You Can Do With Friends\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2013\/10\/07\/sweating-another-things-you-can-do-with-friends\/\">who is also a spinning instructor at the Athletic Centre<\/a>, about my time at Scary Skate. After telling her how it was a sort of a struggle for me, she told me that she also leads a skating class every Friday morning (um, how does this girl find energy?). She offered to teach me how to properly skate one-on-one at the Varsity Centre next time. I\u2019m also planning to drop by the Athletic Centre for another spin class because what else is friendship for but to support one another? I know I've mentioned this before, but I've found that it pays to talk about where I'm at in my journey for a more active lifestyle. Just talking about what I need to improve on helps to make my change feel real, especially if I\u2019m surrounded by active friends willing to encourage me.\r\n\r\nSo ice skating is a work in progress, but Scary Skate was nonetheless fun! I enjoyed goofing around and not being serious with friends (while they showed off their spectacular skating skills). Most of all, I like the inclusive mood at\u00a0<a title=\"MoveUofT\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MoveUofT\">MoveU<\/a>\u00a0events, especially since I\u2019ve been getting into a rut with my lone exercise routine. After all, you can only do so much planking alone in your room.\r\n\r\nAnyway, next week, on November 6th, MoveU and UTSC\u2019s PACE team are hosting a tri-campus event: dodge ball at <a title=\"SKYZONE: DODGEBALL TRAMPOLINE U OF T\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/569022959835629\/\">Skyzone Indoor Trampoline Park<\/a>. It\u2019s only $5 and transportation will be provided, as well as free food and equipment. I\u2019m sorry, but I have to repeat: Trampoline Park. Free. Fun time guaranteed. I\u2019ve never been to a tri-campus event before, so this is going to be another \u201crisk-taking\u201d task that will call on me to conquer another fear: getting over my shyness. But, this is going to be at a trampoline park, and nothing is going to stop me from going.\r\n\r\n<figure style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.gifbay.com\/2013\/08\/crazy_trampoline_dodgeball_dodge-71594.gif\" width=\"500\" height=\"257\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">I\u2019m going to bring my game on next week. \u2013VIA GIFBAY.COM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nSince I\u2019m tackling a fear each week, I dare you, fellow readers, to do the same. Perhaps I\u2019ll see you at the trampoline park?\r\n\r\n\u2014 Amanda","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nWhen I think of Halloween, I think of a holiday based on horror. But a holiday based on tackling my fears? Not really. However, this year, I bit the bullet and decided to attend MoveU\u2019s Halloween event, Scary Skate. Yes,&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2013\/11\/04\/halloween-fight-or-flight\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Halloween: Fight or Flight?&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2013\/11\/04\/halloween-fight-or-flight\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Halloween: Fight or Flight?&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1758,7204,65,61,1,66,82,67],"tags":[25512,405,153,111,152,101,88,138,286,323,1382],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18794"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18813,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18794\/revisions\/18813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}