Figure skater Alysa Liu has impacted many people after becoming the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in singles figure skating since Sarah Hughes in 2002. A figure known across the world, Liu has become an inspiration to many, including myself.

Liu’s journey of returning to the Olympic stage, after having previously competed at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, had a significant impact on both herself and the figure skating community. 

Because of the pressure from her father and coaches, she temporarily retired from skating in 2022 when she was 16, choosing to protect her mental health and discover who she was beyond a figure skater. 

Through that experience, she realized that she needed to create distance from what she loved in order to truly understand the significant role figure skating played in her life. 

She represents athletes who cannot speak up for themselves. The athletes who told their coaches that they were quitting because they no longer had the passion for a sport they once loved. 

I relate to her, not on the scale of being an Olympian, but as someone who’s experienced the burnout of figure skating, a sport which I have done since I was 6 years old. I felt the pressure of letting down my parents and the pressure that I put on myself, constantly comparing myself to others.

I also took a break for over a year like her and felt the need to pull away from a world that I learned to despise.

I stopped competing solo, instead choosing to hide behind the fear I built up. I only allowed myself to do shows with a group of people so I could conceal myself among them.

Through Liu’s performance, I discovered that I never gave myself a fair chance from the beginning; instead, I let myself doubt all the chances I was given. Liu showed me that if I just perform for myself and stay in the moment, I could be free and learn to love the sport again.

Liu demonstrates how finding her own freedom in the rink makes a difference in her skating. She made her own decision to come back on her terms, highlighting how her independence has allowed her to grow.

The bravery she demonstrated by stepping on the ice again extends past the rink to strangers watching her performance who can relate to what she’s gone through. In her skating, she illustrates her most authentic self and her true love for being an artist, someone who expresses themselves through performance.

Her performance, featuring “Promise” by Laufey, symbolizes her return to figure skating on her terms, and the reason she started in the first place — for the beauty of it, not the metals or status.

Liu’s journey of becoming an Olympian and winning a bronze medal at the World Championships when she was 16 was never fully hers to appreciate. When others were constantly telling her what to do with her life, it profoundly impacted the independence she had. And at that point, was it really her dream, or was it someone else’s dream forced onto her? 

That performance actually inspired me to go back into competing for myself. I learned that I shouldn’t worry about medals or beating other candidates, but instead worry about how I want to express myself through skating and what it means for me to skate with freedom.

Liu has inspired me and many others to find the lost courage within themselves and start thinking for ourselves. She taught me that it’s okay to take a break, just as long as we set our own terms. We must remind ourselves it’s all a part of the story we are forming because, in the end, it’s our choice whether or not we create a story we love or a story we are afraid of.

I’m the only person in my life that can dictate my future, and I choose to be free.