My first real ski experience!

I went skiing last night! I pretty much rocked that mountain....or vice versa, but who's into the details? This wasn't technically my first time skiing, but it may as well have been. The only other time was when I was 12. I was in Japan. I don't remember much about skiing that time, only that getting up was freakishly difficult and that a guy named Gozilla (we called him Godzilla) held the front of my skis together the whole way down the mountian. I don't think it really counts. As for last night, let me start from the beginning....

It was stake ski night for the church and you could rent skis and get a lift ticket for pretty cheap. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go or not, seeing as how I had virtually no experience and I didn't think anyone would want to waste their time teaching me and going slow with me. Fortunately, some of my guy friends talked me into it. I've been kind of wanting to try, but it's so expensive....and then there's the whole fear thing. I was so scared. I'm not exactly a huge fan of being in a situation where I'm not in control. Well, strapping giant sticks to my feet and sending me flying down a mountain without speed control was completely stressful. Thankfully, my friend, Tom was incredibly patient with me and took some of his time out to teach me and take me down the mountain a couple times. It was slow going at first and I had to stop a lot to calm myself down and regain control, especially after my first fall where I couldn't stop myself and ended up riding down on my butt for a while. After a couple times going very slowly, Tom thought I was good to go. haha...yeah. Thankfully I ran into another friend(don't worry--not literally), Matt and he was there for trip 3 down the slope. I was feeling pretty confident by then, until the stupid unavoidable steep part. I managed to stay upright, only I kept picking up speed! I was FLYING. I didn't really have the option of slowing down or stopping, so I just kept flying...until...I biffed. Lost a pole that time, but thankfully Matt brought it to me down in the powder. Brief side note: ski lifts...what the heck? No one told me when you get to the top it goes down a bit so that you don't have to jump off and then have the seat push you in the back of your head till you get to the small hill. Only took me three times to get that part down....

Round 4: just me and the mountian. I was all alone for the first time and guess what....I DID IT! Perfect run...no falls! That's all I wanted. It was awesome. There's nothing like a good run to get your confidence up so you let your guard down, though. Trip 5...biffed hardcore. I lost both skis and a pole. That one hurt. I was pretty tired and sore, but I tried one more run. It didn't go so well. I fell hard a couple times and I decided I had enough for the night. Still, I had my perfect run, so I was happy.

All in all, it was a good night. I was really glad I went, even though I had a massive headache and my body hated me afterwards and I've got plenty of bruises and aches today. It was worth it. I really like trying new things and proving to myself I can do it. Most of the time, my tendency is to chicken out, but I'm really trying to push myself outside of my comfort zone because I know it's worth it. Come to think of it, I would say many of the best experiences of my life have been when I pushed myself beyond my safety net. For example: going to Japan, my summer at BYU, (going without knowing anyone or what I was getting into), hiking Mt. Timp, starting certain relationships...and ending others and coming here to Logan and starting grad school (just to name a few). I think about those incredible experiences and how they've changed me and help me grow and I wonder why I am so resistant to change.

And here are some more adorable pictures of Jesse