My dirt bike is blue and black, and blends in with the dark when I'm riding it at night. I love the blue because it's my mom’s favorite color and it stands out on the black, real nice and pretty looking. Another thing I love when I'm riding is to switch through all four gears. Many dirtbikes have five gears, but mine has four because it's a Chinese model. I love my dirt bike because it gets me to the places that I want to go really quickly. When I'm riding to my destination you can just hear the beauty in the motor. You can hear me coming, you can also hear me turning the corners, coming up the street and going down the street. I first fell in love with dirt bikes in Florida. Growing up in Florida is kinda fun when you're a little kid. Until about the age of 14, because after the age of 14, there is  a lot of violence in the state of Florida.

One day, when I was eight or nine years old, I was at my dad’s place and my oldest brother took me to a park. At the park there was a guy from our neighborhood riding a dirtbike. I wondered if the man would give me a ride. My big brother asked him, because my big brother knew how I felt about dirt bikes and other kinds of motorized bikes and other bikes in general. The guy was like, “sure, why not.” I got on the back of the dirt bike and we went riding through the middle of the park’s field. When I was on it I felt so happy. I had so much fun. That's when I first fell in love with dirt bikes. A couple years later, when I was 15 years old, my mom took me to her friend’s house to ride a dirt bike for the first time by myself. I was so nervous and excited, I was nervous because I never rode a dirt bike before by myself, and I did know what to do or how to ride. When it started I was even more scared, but I jumped on it. I stalled a few times, but then I took off and stayed on for a while until I got used to it. Then my little cousin saw me riding and he wanted to get on and ride with me. So I got my little cousin and  I was all the way ready for riding on the dirt bike and I had so much fun.

When I was 16, my dad gave me his dirt bike. When my dad gave me his motorbike he told me to make sure I took good care of it and that's exactly what I was willing to do. It was a rainy day, and he rented a truck, and drove 210 miles down south to Florida just to bring me the bike a week before Christmas. I was so appreciative. A couple days later I took it out to ride around the neighborhood. And then my mom said that she wanted to try and learn how to ride so I taught her. When she got on she put it in gear, came off the clutch, and the bike started to roll. She went not even three feet before falling in the grass. Me and my brother were there to help her but we were also laughing. After she said she was not getting back on it and she hasn’t.

I moved to Massachusett when I was 17 to live with my dad. I brought my dirtbike with me. I like living with my dad, but I also miss my mom. I call her every week and tell her about what's going on in my life. My dirt bike connects me to my family, my mom in Florida and my dad here in Massachusetts. My mom has taught me to ride safely and my dad has taught me to love riding. Dirt bikes bring me joy and happiness and I hope it brings the same to others.

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