Rolling with a Spirit of Play
Kj Ahlberg on her wheels exploring Singapore
When I heard about this most excellent version of play, I knew right away that Kj Ahlberg had qualified for Advanced Recess. Kj just turned thirteen and lives with her family in Singapore. I grew up with her parents (Erik and Tami) and even attended daycare with Erik. Fast forward to today and I’m not surprised in the least bit that they set off on a global adventure with their family and are on their seventh year in Singapore. Recently I saw Erik posting about Kj’s adventure of rollerblading the entire perimeter of Singapore and I thought this was definitely a story worth sharing with our AR community. I continue to be amazed and impressed with the endless options for play in our world and it’s all the more cool when you hear of someone so young doing something so unique. Kids are often given more leeway to have “playtime” but I feel our society needs a serious infusion of focusing more on play. So, I hope Kj’s story inspires you to create that playtime for yourself and also gives you boost of encouragement to try something new.
Here’s more with Kj:
Describe a little about yourself:
I'm 13 and in seventh grade. I live in Singapore, and have been living here for seven years. I have been rollerblading for four years and taking lessons for two. I enjoy doing tricks and teaching others to skate.
What do you do for play?
I rollerblade. For me that means, playing floorball, learning tricks, doing slalom, and long skates. This summer I skated around the edge of Singapore. It took three days, it was four hours a day. Traveling around 40km (24 miles) each day. At the end of each day, I was super tired, but also very proud of what I had done.
How does play motivate you in your life?
It's like a feeling of being free and not having to worry about anything else. You can just skate down by the ocean and be happy.
How do you benefit from it?
It makes me comparatively happier and I can tell. Usually I go for a one to two hour skate when I get home. The whole day while I am at school I look forward to that. It gives you something to work towards, a simple goal.
Our motto is Pursue a Life of Play. In your own words, what does this mean to you? How do you live it?
Do what you want, having fun with it. Be active and enjoy what you are doing. I go skate as much as possible and push myself. I want it to be fun. As long as you are happy and having fun nothing can slow you down.
Thank you to Kj for reminding us that play is fun, simple and brings the feeling of being free. There is hardly anything better in live than that. Keep rolling, Kj! And, you definitely earned your AR stripes!
\\
