It’s 10:30pm. My friends and I are at a 24 hour donut shop, getting donuts and coffee before heading to a skating rink for a late night skate party. An older Asian woman is behind the counter. We ask her if she has been to Roller King, the rink down the road. She admits that she hadn’t.
We tell her that she should check it out. It’s a great rink and has awesome parties, like the one we’re going to now. She relates that she used to skate as a kid, but hasn’t been on skates in years.
I say, “Oh you should do it! It’s like riding a bike.”
“I actually got a new pair of skates three years ago,” she replied. “But you know, I think I have worn them maybe five times?”
“Oh why so few times?”
“Well, I work 10 hour shifts, six days a week here, just to keep this place open. And when I get home, there’s no way I have the energy to go out skating.”
A sobering reminder that for many people, hobbies like skating, exercising, and dancing are just not something that is possible if they are struggling just to stay afloat.
This story is very enlightening. Some of us have time and money to pursue our hobbies. We should never look down on people that only have energy to go to work and go home. Thank you for reminding us to simply bring energy to their space.