The Shades of Synchronized Skating: Brianna Diary Entry #2

by Brianna Davis

Although I have not had my Aurora Tights for very long yet, I can confidently say that wearing them has been a positively impactful experience. Through eleven years of skating, I have never owned or worn a pair of tights that even remotely matched my skin color, so of course I was excited for the opportunity to finally wear ones that did. I ordered the shade “Amber”, and after receiving the tights and trying them on, I was amazed at how well the color matched my skin. I had worn the light tan colored tights for so long and gotten so accustomed to my legs being a completely different color from the rest of my body that I never even imagined how I’d look otherwise.

However, looking at my old tights after trying on the Aurora Tights, I realized just how bad they really looked. I couldn’t believe that I had worn those light tights for the last eleven years and been okay with it. I was so excited for an opportunity to skate while wearing them, and fortunately I got that experience at a test session. It was honestly a little weird at first, since I had never worn dark tights before, and I was somewhat worried about whether or not I would stand out because of it. However, I realized that it was pointless to worry about the reactions of others and focus on my own feelings.

I felt more comfortable and confident while wearing the tights, so worrying about anything else was futile. By the time I was ready to skate out for my test, I was completely rid of any lingering feelings of self-consciousness and felt great about myself and my appearance. I noticed that the confidence I felt because of the tights was reflected in the confidence I portrayed while on the ice. After my experience that day, I realized how much I regretted not having been able to wear tights that matched my skin color before now. Since I had gotten so used to wearing the tights that were way too light, I doubted that the simple change would make much of a difference, but I was mistaken.

I was glad to have been able to wear something that was specifically designed with people of color in mind, rather than something designed for white skaters that I was forced to wear anyway, despite how unflattering it looked on me. I’m looking forward to having more positive experiences with these tights as I wear them in the future.