I began skateboarding in elementary school and still remember my first attempts at learning to “tic-tac” – a process of generating forward momentum by repeatedly pressing on the tail of the board just enough to make the front wheels rise, rotating a bit, then dropping the front wheels back down.
A more experienced friend patiently showed me how to get started, and I spent the next several years learning new tricks and teaching them back to new skaters. I loved everything about the process – wandering around town with friends, getting creative on obstacles, and constantly helping each other to progress.