'One step at a time': Teen's life moves fast. How roller skating is helping him slow down
The 317 Project tells stories of life in all of Indianapolis’ vibrant neighborhoods – 317 words at a time.
Terrence Hackett II shows off a pirouette-style move and falls on the hardwood floor at Skateland Roller Skating.
“We all fall,” he says nonchalantly, getting back up.
He used to be nervous about looking silly when trying new moves. But today, he’s fearless.
“You just have to get the fear out,” Terrence said. “You just have to say, ‘You’re just gonna do it.’”
When he's not at Ben Davis High School, the 17-year-old is working or skating at the west-side rink, where the neon colors scream as loud as the music. This is his place of peace.
“When you get on the floor, it’s just easy to clear your head,” Terrence said. “To just get out everything that went bad about your day, push it all out.”
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With skating, he escapes the stresses of school. Anxiety about the future. The grief of losing two friends, one shot, the other killed in a car crash.
Being a teenager today is "different and difficult," Terrence says, "because everybody has (their) doubts and hopes" against their generation. He wants to graduate early, study business in college and open a shoe store one day.
At the rink, gliding in long stretches, spinning in circles, skating backward (he loves skating backward, a friend says), the movement helps him pause.
He remembers to enjoy being a teenager who laughs with friends and wears his favorite color red and owns about a dozen Nike Air Jordan shoes.
Though he's sprained his wrist a few times, he says he's learned from the mistakes.
“(You) just got to be patient and not try to rush everything,” Terrence said. “Keep your foot one step ahead of you … Just taking one step at a time.”
Contact Rashika Jaipuriar at rjaipuriar@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @rashikajpr.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 317 Project: Teen life moves fast. Roller skating helps him slow down
