I’m Hector. I skate. But before the skating, before the tricks, the falls, and the freedom—I was just a student, stuck at home during the 2021 lockdown in Uganda. I was 18 then, in my final year of secondary school. But instead of sitting in a classroom, I was home—school closed, exams postponed, everything uncertain. The city was quiet. Streets were nearly empty, and time seemed to stretch endlessly. I tried to study, I really did. I had my notes, old past papers, and the hope that school would reopen soon. But there’s only so much you can read when your mind is restless and your world feels paused. One day, while cleaning around the house, I found my cousin’s old roller skates in a cardboard box. They were worn out, the wheels uneven, but to me they looked like a challenge—something new. I put them on, and immediately fell. Hard. But I laughed. For the first time in weeks, I felt awake. Every afternoon after studying, I’d put on those skates and try again. Our compound became my training ground. I’d roll, stumble, fall, get up, and try again. The neighbors watched from their verandas, sometimes amused, sometimes cheering me on. Slowly, I got better. I learned how to balance, how to turn, even how to move to the rhythm of music in my headphones. When the lockdown began to ease later in 2021, I was still studying from home, but I started practicing outside too—at a flat open space near our church. I met a few guys who were curious about my skating, and we started hanging out. Some even tried my skates. In early 2022, after hustling a bit and saving money from helping out in the neighborhood, I bought a better pair of inline skates—and later, a used skateboard. That board changed everything. Skating on rollers was smooth. Skating on a board was raw and real. The first time I landed an ollie, I felt like I’d just scored a goal in a stadium full of fans. By 2023, I had learned how to balance my school life with skating. I passed my exams and continued my studies, but the moment I was out of class, I hit the streets or the park. I started filming my moves, uploading clips online, and even teaching a few neighborhood kids who looked up to me. In 2024, I joined local skate events in Kampala and even traveled to Jinja. I didn’t always win, but I gained respect. People started calling me “the skater who reads,” because I was often seen carrying a backpack with my books and a skateboard under my arm. Now it’s 2025. I’m 22, still studying part-time, still skating full-time. I’ve been skating for four years. Skating taught me how to focus, how to be patient, how to get up—over and over—whether it's from a hard fall or a bad grade. I still fall. I still learn. But I never stop moving. I’m Hector. I skate. Through lockdowns, through school, through life.