Student Blog: Alysa Liu’s Inspirational Artistry

Staying motivated as an artist is incredibly challenging. It’s easy to get discouraged as an artist; we are plagued by burnout, lack of inspiration, and frustration. As someone who prides herself on working on many projects at once and being as theatrically involved as possible, I often find myself overwhelmed, tired, and defeated. It’s hard to know how to approach these feelings, but if they’re not addressed, it can lead to the end of your artistry.

As 2026 has begun to progress, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about artist burnout and how I can try to avoid it. Amazingly, a perfect example of combating burnout was played live for me on national television: Alysa Liu’s gold medal win at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Not only was her performance incredible, but the story of her complicated relationship to the sport is an inspiring tale to athletes and artists alike. 

Alysa Liu is an American figure skater. She was born in Richmond, California, and began taking figure skating classes at age five when coaches at a local ice rink noticed her natural talent. She became the youngest ever U.S. Figure Skating champion at just thirteen years old, landing three triple axels over her two programs. Because of her immense talent and technical ability, she was seen as the U.S. answer to the many young Russian skaters dominating the sport at the time.

After the 2022 Beijing Olympics and Skating World Championships (where she won a bronze medal), she decided to retire from the sport. She was only sixteen years old. Her posts on social media explained that she no longer took joy in skating and was ready to move on with her life after eleven years of hard, endless work. In later interviews, she has discussed how skating consumed her entire being; the time she spent at the rink meshed together with her own, personal time. After her retirement, she enrolled in UCLA and enjoyed a low profile, college lifestyle. 

In 2024, however, a ski trip reignited her competitive spark in 2024, she decided to return to skating. With her body and mindset refreshed and healthy, Liu set her sights on the 2026 Winter Olympics. Winning gold at the Skating World Championships, she made the U.S. Olympic team, and won the gold medal in the women’s free skate final! 

Liu’s story serves as a powerful reminder that we as artists require honesty and rest in order to thrive in our careers and artistic endeavors. While it’s easy for us to overload ourselves with projects, it is important to step back and rest in order to ensure we don’t become burnt out. Rest is not an enemy of progress; Liu’s success reveals that rest may give us the opportunity to return to our art as our best selves. Art is a joyful endeavor, and it is too often viewed as a responsibility and chore. Taking time to step away and evaluate our work will lead to better, more enjoyable work in the future.