Laughing Down the Slopes

While I could easily tell stories of overthinking small problems and becoming frustrated at them, I feel like there is something great about being able to look back on previous challenges and realizes how hilarious it is that there was a level of difficulty that is no longer present. My immediate scenario I think of was my struggle to learn to snowboard and how by keeping a positive attitude, a supportive instructor, and friends there to support me helped me laugh it off when I fell down and always had me getting back up to try again.

I started snowboarding in the 4th grade because my brother started doing it and it soon made me curious about what it was like to snowboard. On my first ride, I went with my brother who was a freshman at the time. I had rented all my gear but had no idea how to do any of the snowboarding basics, including stop. However, this did not stop my want to snowboard so I got on that lift and rode to the top. Another key thing about the lift is getting off, which many newbies struggle with, but I somehow got my first try. Then when we got to the trail I realized the actual situation I was in. I had no idea how to slow down or turn which are vital in order to not fall over or get hurt. I had fallen probably 3 times before I had even gone 100 feet. At one point I remember picking up some speed and how exciting and freeing it really was, but it ended abruptly when I caught an edge and crashed hard. My helmet definitely helped, but being that I was in the back of the group and had no idea where I was going and a throbbing headache I began to feel lost and worried that I lost my brother and his friends. I soon figured out that no matter what trail you take on a ski mountain they all point down which brought me back to safety. I took one more ride which went about the same way and I then called it quits thinking, maybe snowboarding isn’t for me. Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. My young spirit combined with a little perseverance and a lot of arrogance would not let me quit.

The next season of snowboarding I decided maybe I should get some lessons. Many of my friends were doing ski club through our school and while it was a little costly I believed that it would pay off in the end. This season was really the turning point for me in my snowboard career. I had a real anxious feeling because I had put myself in a leveled group maybe a few higher than I really was in order to look better to my friends, which put me at a disadvantage in the group, but I soon caught on and began to excel in the class. After my first lesson, I was up on the mountain by myself riding with my friends, even if it was only for a few runs. This is not to say I didn’t have my faults and definitely ate the ground more than once, but when your friends are right there pushing you to go further and supporting you to do your best the falls stop hurting. The runs start moving quicker, the stunts get less scary, and the fear goes away. Every fall was just another thing to laugh at and talk about on the lift. It was freeing and something I took for granted at the time, but it stuck with me even during my biggest falls.

My biggest crash I ever had was, of course, the last run of the night. We were seconds away from going in and I was in the back of the pack of my two best friends, Brandon and Max. They had turned the corner at the end of the trail and I had some speed as I was taking the corner. At the last moment, I saw an ice chunk around the size of a volleyball that was blending in the darker snow. I hit this chunk and immediately was thrown forward landing on my neck, shoulder, and head. I looked around to make sure nobody had seen my crash and got up and walked off my injuries. My shoulder hurt pretty bad, but I didn’t think anything of it. I guess my adrenaline had already been kicked in because I felt little to no pain at this time. I had just about reached the lodge to meet up with my friends who had already found a table inside when a ski patrol medic stopped me and asked if I was alright because they had seen my crash. I told them about my shoulder and they brought me inside and checked me out and the medic knew immediately that I had either fractured or broken my collarbone. At this time I am thinking that it must be their first day because I am not in pain in the slightest. They decided that I should go to the hospital to get an x-ray so I had to stick around the lodge for a little bit. I sat down at a table with all of my good ski friends and for that 20 minutes or so I think I probably laughed for about 19 minutes of it. Everyone was cracking jokes about the crash, or the food, even what had happened at school that day and being able to laugh at all kinds of stuff after something that traumatic is probably why I still get on the board today. Because my worst-case scenario doesn’t scare me, it makes me better.

There is nothing I appreciate more than my decision to participate in sports at a young age, including my time playing soccer and lacrosse. They each teach their own specific lessons that have helped me even in life today. I have made many great friends, formed bonds and memories, and learned how to work together to achieve a goal. Of course, there were struggles and hardships within all of these, but learning how to laugh it off early in my life is what I believe to be the key to my success and why I stick with each of them today. Because what is there to be afraid of when you can just make a joke and laugh it off.

Photo on Foter.com