Personal Narrative: Snowboarding

When I was 15, that was my 3rd year of snowboarding, my ramp freestyle element went wrong. Just this one jump became the biggest challenge in my life.

Snow skiing. The first day learning to ski is rough for almost anyone you ask. The day before my first ski trip, I could not help but wonder. Was I going to fall on my butt? Would I fall flat on my face? Would I make a fool out of myself? These were all questions that I knew I would soon get answers to. I had built up such intense feelings of nervousness and excitement that I could hardly tell the difference. All I wanted was to make it out alive.

The coat of armor I adorned, made of down feathers and a nylon shell, yielded no protection against the daggers of that cold winter air. As I peered out toward the horizon, I saw nothing but tree tops, and some snow capped mountain tops in the distance. With my feet bound to freshly waxed skis, the only thing stronger than my ski poles was my determination to get down the mountain.

Snowboarding is one of the most enjoyed international pastimes. It presents you with this feeling of freedom and raw power as the cold air hits your face while you carve down the almost vertical mountain face dropping over steep clips and carving trough trees. These are just a few reasons why so many people internationally flock to the mountains to partake in this sport. Snowboarding provides people an escape from there comfort zone by pushing them to take on risks they would never have thought off before.

One month ago was the second time I had ever been snowboarding. The first time was nothing special. I merely taught myself how to repeatedly fall until your legs and hands are so cold you feel like one of your fingers could snap off at any moment. I would prefer not to recall that memory. The latter was the more enjoyable of the two and during this time I really began to understand the principles of this painfully limb-numbing sport. Each time I fell it was as if a teacher from the not-so-glorious years of the twentieth century had slapped a ruler against the top of my hand. It hurt a lot but after my proverbial hand had an imprint of inches one and two, I was finally able to piece together where I had went wrong in my inept technique. I corrected

Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing.” Throughout life you are probably going to change hobbies and try new things, but your passion is an activity that you can enjoy doing for the rest of your life. The thing that gets my blood racing is snowboarding. It has helped me face my fears as a shy and unconfident girl, and bring joy and excitement to my life. I believe that I will always be able to turn to snowboarding during anytime throughout my life.

Throughout time, the progression and evolution of snowboarding has increased greatly. It has gone from non existence in the late 1970’s, to one of the most watched action sports in a matter of thirty-five years. The upward takeoff and popularity of snowboarding relies on two people, Jake Burton and Shaun White. Jake Burton back in 1977 had the vision for what snowboarding would be, but Shaun White had what it took to manifest that vision. Evidence has shown that time brings change in sports, history has repeated itself with snowboarding, this history reflects the time & changes that has occurred in America.

Saying that I was on the snowboarding and had never snowboarded before could be called a “setback”, but that may be an understatement. According to those on the team, it was a “major issue that cannot be resolved”, but for all intents and purposes, I’ll refer to it as a setback.

The first time I’ve ever gone snowboarding at a resort was a lifechanging experience for me. It was the time when I decided that this sport is going to be what I’m going to do, I’ve always wanted to go snowboarding before. I love everything about this sport/hobby. I’ve always loved snowboarding but I’ve never actually pursued it because nobody would help me pursue the sport. Snowboarding inspires me to be better, do better, and live better.

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon with blue skies and all the makings for a good day of early season skiing on that fateful November afternoon. The day was winding down, the Broncos had just kicked off, and my friends and I had just leapt off the chairlift to embark on our last run of the day. All was well on the way down, a blur of orange jerseys rushing by as I sped down the mountain making the most of the last run of my day. Upon our final few turns of the afternoon, I found myself in a predicament that would later shape me into the person I am today.

The first thing I have to mention about this course is the distance, I had expected it to be just about exactly 5K and maybe up the ski mountain one time, but I found out right away before the wave started it was more like 10K and we would go up the entire ski mountain three times.

This is the Salomon Wonder. It is an all mountain/free-style with a mixed camber for supreme edge control and when I need it the perfect pop. Now if you didn't understand what I just said while describing this board I hope by the end of my conversation you all you will be able to decipher the terminology I just used.

Let’s go back to a cold winter day at Shawnee Peak in Bridgeton, Maine. I was discussing my dilemma of what to do for the upcoming sports season with my ski coach. I have been playing softball for the past 12 years, but this year something felt different…I wasn’t interested. The past season was quite rough, getting to the point where I was seriously thinking about quitting the team. I knew I didn’t want to go back to that, but I needed something else to occupy my time. While talking to my ski coach he mentioned playing lacrosse because it was the first year being offered at my school. I quickly responded with “but I don’t want to have to run!”. He assured me that if I was the goalie there would be minimal running. My coach also added that it

Cross country is a sport that can change the way people see themselves. I can only say this statement because I have been affected by this myself. During this satisfying sport I would constantly find myself lost in the moment. Not realizing how much this sport has meant to myself. Now that I have seen just about everything this sport has to offer I can relive some of the valuable life lessons that cross country has taught me.

One of the most exhilarating moments of my entire life was my very first time at a roller coaster theme park. Growing up I would always see commercials on television of children and adults alike having a sparkling Colgate smile on their faces and enjoying themselves, so when my family decided we were going to Islands of Adventure for vacation. I was like a child who just received a cookie out of the cookie jar. Even though I was 21 years old at the time, I was extremely trilled. I packed my luggage like a stuff turkey on Thanksgiving Day and I was ready to take on this adventure.