The room goes black and I know it is time, my time. The balance beam is staring me down, giving off a yellowish glow of uncertainty. It does not matter where I am or what anything means, it is just the beam and I. No one can get between us, it is our time to show how sturdy we are together. I am standing on the right of the balance beam, my hand gently laying on its thin hard body, my feet holding themselves on a hard spring scale. I quickly swipe my hand across the beam before dropping it to my side and pushing down with all my weight on the spring scale. I fly up, my hips passing the beam. I kick my right leg forward and my left leg backward with my feet pointed the second I leave the safety of the ground. I land on the right end of the beam with legs outstretched in opposite directions, a free jump to cross split. I arch backwards and put my right hand on the beam next to my left back leg. I put the toes of my left foot flat on the beam and pushed backwards. My legs never break the split they are holding while they move back. My right toes touch the beam, leading my foot to safety. Immediately after, my left toes reach the beam. I lift my body and bring my arms up, I stand tall with my chest pushed forward.
I look down the length of the beam, I lift myself on the tips of my toes and complete a simple half turn. The whole length of the thin 5 meter beam, is behind me. I raise my hands above my head, locking my thumbs together, my good luck charm, keeping me together. I breath in, everything freezes and I lose it, I do not know if it will be alright, if I will land my hardest set. I’ve made it too far to stop now. I breath in again. I lean my upper body forward while my legs jut backwards and forcefully push my arms back behind me. I swing my arms forward, push up from my legs, and point my feet the second they leave the beam. I arch my back backwards, my left leg separates from my right, my hands touch the beam followed by my left and then right leg. I’m up again a second later, my back and legs repeating the same motion, but this time my arms shoot out to the sides, only holding onto air. I land one leg at a time, and I flip again without a second to think, because thinking is a waste of time. Stop, and the skills are not connected, taking away half a point from my score. Go, and I risk falling on my hardest skill, failing my life. I jump up and back, my legs straight out, my feet pointed. My hands grasp my legs at the knees as if they are holding onto the edge of a cliff. My left leg comes crashing down, my right only hitting half the beam sending a searing pain up my foot, I kick it backwards into the air. There's only one second. Fight to stay or give up. Fall, and lose everything. Everything that has happened in my life so far, has led me to this moment. Do I even deserve to fight? Do I deserve to stay up? Do I deserve to go on, to see what's coming? Everything I fought for, that I strived for, is packed into this one moment. There is so much left to discover, but where do I find the will? I was taught to fight and stand tall, but I am wearing thin. I constantly fall and I constantly stand. But only the strong, the true fighters would conquer this moment. It does not matter how many times you fell and got back up. It does not matter how many times you fought. Only now matters. If there is one thing I know, it is that I am a fighter and I will not fall no matter what I am faced with. I push my left knee in, straightening it to a point where it hurts. I push my right leg up, my legs are in a split position again. I push my arms up and lock my shoulder blades back. My arms are on opposite sides of my body. A scale completed. I arch my back and my arms stretch out over my head, grabbing onto my right leg. A needle completed. I bring my right leg down to the beam while still holding it with my hands. I place my foot flat on the beam, my muscles are shaking, sweat is sliding down my body, and my once perfect hair is starting to fall apart. I may have gotten myself back on the beam, but the battle is not over. I stand and look towards the end of the beam. I take a deep breath and step forward with my right leg, I then bring my left leg forward pushing off my right and using the  momentum to bring me even closer to the end of the beam. When my left leg touches the beam I reach forward and place my hands. I kick my right leg up and my left follows. I bring them together above my body and slightly bend  my arms. As I move my legs to the left side of my body, I push off from my hands. When my legs land I am already standing. I push off immediately and twist my body halfway to face the beam I have now deserted. I bend my knees and bring them in catching them in my hands and began to flip forward. Once, twice, and my feet touch the ground. I firmly place them next to each other bending my knees and letting the shock flow through my body and out my arms. I straighten myself, pushing my chest out, I push my arms up by my head, and fling my hands back. I am a fighter.