Gone Viral

Phyllis had gone viral. She hadn’t wanted to and was rather embarrassed by it all. In grade school, she wanted a skateboard. Her parents refused for various reasons, but the two that stuck out stuck with her the most. First, they were for boys. Her counterargument was that all of her friends had one and they skateboarded around the neighborhood without her. Second, her brother had one that he barely used anymore and she could use his. That didn’t go over well–just like with the Legos.

Phyllis had asked for Legos a couple of years before. Her parents responded that they were for boys; plus, they had tons and tons of them. Phyllis got them out and built masterpieces whenever her brother wasn’t home. She would have to destroy them and return them to the boxes they were kept in, so he wouldn’t notice. Of course, he didn’t use them at all anymore, but they were his and he wasn’t going to share. When Phyllis told her parents that she needed her own because he wasn’t going to share, they responded that he didn’t have to share because they were gifted to him and they wouldn’t buy her any because they were for boys. A year after she lost interest in them, Legos started making pink and purple sets targeted to girls. She never got over the resentment.

Now, Phyllis was older and wanted to skateboard with her friends around the neighborhood. They all had their own skateboards that were covered in flowers and peace signs and pretty colored wheels. They were not designed for boys. In fact, some were custom-made at the bike shop downtown.

On a few occasions, Phyllis snuck her brother’s skateboard out and met up with her friends. They tried to teach her, but she was so far behind skill-wise she couldn’t keep up with them. They would frequently stop and wait for her and give her pointers, but told her she needed to spend some time practicing on her. Then she got busted when her brother was returning from a game and witnessed her skateboarding through the neighborhood far behind her friends. First, he mocked her for sucking. Then he tattled to their parents that she took his property without his permission. Finally, he hid the skateboard so she could never use it again. And again, the resentment lingered.

One day when she was 52, she found a similar board at a garage sale and decided, “Better late than never.” For a few days, she practiced at home on the sidewalk in front of her house. She fell. A lot! Phyllis is also a big woman, so when she fell she fell hard. It didn’t stop her though; she got up after every fall and tried again. Unfortunately, the teen boys across the street thought it was hilarious and recorded her falls and uploaded them to TikTok.

People she knew kept sending it to her asking if she was okay. Phyllis was mortified and gave up.

Then, all that childhood resentment surged through her and she sought redemption.

Her best friend Amy took karate. Phyllis wasn’t allowed because it was for boys. So now, she enrolled in an adult karate class.

In junior high, she wanted to surf. After all, her brother and his friends started when they went to the beach for summer vacation when were in junior high. No, surfing is for boys.

Phyllis took it a step further. She loved watching the kite surfers as they traveled to and from the family’s beach condo. She never even asked if she could try that. She already knew the answer despite there being many women out there flipping on the waves.

Phyllis signed up for surfing and kite surfing lessons and threw in paddleboarding for fun. She’s 52 and answers to no one. There are no longer restrictions to her life.

She wasn’t good at any of these activities. She feared being recorded and mocked. Despite her mortification, she vowed to finish the lessons she paid for.

On her last surf lesson, she stood up. On the board. She stood up on the board at the right time and place and actually surfed. She surfed. It was short-lived, but the exhilaration and pride were long-lasting. For a moment, she popped up on her board and found herself standing on water moving gracefully with the waves. It was over so quickly, but she wanted to do it again because she knew she could do it. She signed up for my classes knowing she’d be able to work her way up to kitesurfing.

One day her boss asked her to stay late. She had always been the reliable one who would stay all hours to fix a mistake before a deadline. Everyone else had families or social lives. Good ol Phyllis would always clean up the errors they made rushing through.

“Not today, Mick,” Phyllis said while heading out the door, “I’m meeting my kayaking group and am leading them through chutes and strainers they don’t have experience with. They’re new to this.”

“Phyllis, we need you here.”

Mick,” she retorted, “They need me more, It could literally be life or death.” And she just walked out. Phyllis had gotten skilled enough in kayaking that she had started assisting her teachers in group events like this. In reality, she’d be sorely missed, but the class could continue without her.

The second summer after her journey began, she did it. She was out on the water kiteboarding with the wind and saltwater stinging her face. She had feared this sport and put it off long after she was an adequate surfer. But here she was boosting and popping with the rest of her intermediate class of three. Phyllis was still on the large size, but after a year and a half of activities, she was muscular and toned as well. Her life had done a 180, and she was ready for a 360.

She was tempted to go someplace isolated to attempt skateboarding again, but Phyllis decided against it. As mortified as she was by going viral, it had motivated her to try new things and for once, she was enjoying life and actually living. So she got out her skateboard and set it on the sidewalk, tentatively, she stepped on but was too close to one side and had to immediately step off. She tried again. And again and again. She was much more adept now and started getting the hang of it quicker than before. Next thing she knew she was rolling down to the end of the block, and when she turned around to head back, the boys were out again with their phones. This time they were clapping.

Phyllis went viral again. Her story was picked up and a camera crew followed her many adventures documenting her journey. She was interviewed at the end and was asked what was next for her.

“I’ve always wanted my black belt,” Phyllis confidently stated to the camera. “I started all this because these activities were denied to me as a kid because of my gender. If there’s any takeaway from this for those watching, it’s that you can do anything regardless of gender.” She smiled. She knew she came off preachy but didn’t care. She couldn’t wait for her parents to see this.