A part of me is a little sad, knowing I was so close yet so far away from making it. If it had been held closer to New York, I may have entered the non-qualifying Masters event.
At the same time, I'm truly excited for all the adult skaters who qualified or who entered. It's the climax of the adult skating season for most adults (though some go on to the international competition in Germany that many unofficially call "Adult Worlds" in May). And it's an awesome and rewarding experience, no matter how you place.
It's hard for younger skaters to understand why adult competition is so amazing. I was once one of those younger skaters. But it turned out to be a whole new world that has opened up to me, and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it. Nowhere else in skating do you see such a diverse group of people (diverse in age, shape, race, experience, etc) on the ice, there for no other reason than to challenge and enjoy themselves. It's like being given a second chance at a dream. We're all mature enough to know and accept that we were never bound for the Olympics, and we're wise enough to realize how beneficial the sport is to our lives.
And nowhere in skating do you get the volume of support from your fellow competitors than you do in this endeavor. I went from people stealing my skates as a kid, to people I didn't even know throwing stuffed animals and candy (and vodka) on the ice after I skated. I went from being shunned in a hotel elevator and knocked over during warm-ups by fellow competitors as a kid to being Facebook friends with my competitors and sharing in their skating lives via social media. It's wonderful, and I can't wait to do more of it - I have committed (in my head of course, USFS hasn't announced the events yet, haha) to competing again next year!
To give you an idea of how cool Adult Nationals (AN's) is, here's a cool USFS promo:
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