Blog 66 - A Bicycle Ride

On my sixth birthday, my dad gave me a bicycle. I loved the gift so much that I started riding it that day. At first, two smaller extra wheels were attached, one on each side. I mastered riding this way in just day.

But it was a different story when they were removed. I sustained every kind of injury falling off that bicycle. I doubt my mum can count the times she brought out her bottle of methylated spirit to tend to the injuries. It took me a at least two weeks to get my bearings, and even then I still fell off from time to time albeit the falls were less frequent. Although it took me a significant amount of time, I can proudly say that I whenever I get on a bicycle, I am confident I can ride it.

Now that I think about it, this experience of mine basically sums up life. The beginning of my life I can compare to getting the bicycle; and just as I started riding it that very day, so did my learning in life begin the day I was born. My childhood was like the period of time I spent riding with the two extra wheels. Just as the wheels gave me more balance, so did my parents help me learn the important thing in life. And then it was gone in a flash.

My adolescence now I can liken to the period riding with just two wheels. Just as I could have reattached those wheels if I needed to, so can I call on my parents if I need them. From every fall and every injury sustained, I learnt that the bicycle was not meant to be ridden this way, or that so I could avoid falling again. This is the same way from every mistake I make, I learn the things I should do and the things I shouldn’t, so I don’t make the same mistake again. And just as long as the period of time it took me to master riding with two wheels will this period be.

Right now, I am still at the adolescent age. But I believe that in the end, after all the falls, I will achieve my goals, just like I mastered how to ride a bicycle in the end. I know it will not be sudden, just as learning how to ride with two wheels wasn’t.  But I know that someday, though it may still be far off, I will be able to stand on my own two feet and make a positive impact in the world, one I will be remembered by, just like I dream about.