Ice Queen

Halloween is a time when a mask can be put on and a different persona can be created and lived out.  Whatever costume or personality you can imagine, you can be.  I love being creative and constructing my own costumes on Halloween.  When I was a child I remember how exciting it was to pick out my outfit each year.  One year I was determined to be a cowboy, not a cowgirl but a cowboy.  My mother did not push me to be a cowgirl, but instead allowed me to be whatever I wanted to be that Halloween and in every part of my life.  In the past few years I have not been able to create an outfit because I am usually on the road competing. 

This year I just happened to have some time off to come back to Colorado Springs.  Of course I had to pop back into the Boys and Girls Club and see what the kids came up with for their Halloween costumes.  My favorite costume was a little girl who was a police officer.  She really embraced the identity of a police officer as she cruised through the club saving people and eliminating ‘crime.’  She dutifully made sure everyone waited patiently in line for snack and picked up any trash left behind. For that day she was able to pretend to be something different. 

Just like the young police officer, I morph into a different identity when I am competing.  I put on my costume; my speed suit, bobsled spikes and helmet and become the ‘Ice Queen’.  When I am the Ice Queen I am able to let go of any insecurities or doubt I may have.  I am able to be someone 100 percent confident in my abilities.  The Ice Queen does not care about anything, but pushing the bobsled as fast as she can.  When I am her, I am unbeatable.  Not only does putting on a uniform for a day allow a person to become more confident it also allows them to see what is possible.  Halloween is another opportunity for kids to dream to be something creative, unrealistic or even an Olympic athlete