I’ve skied for about 15 years and for the past 5 years or so I’ve been intrigued by the snowboarders. I never satisfied my curiosity on ski trips with friends because everyone ski’s about the same level and I didn’t want to be the one girl stumbling down the bunny hill while the rest of the group made all sorts of fun memories skiing Blue Sky Basin. When my aunt offered to host my trip up East, I decided that was the time to try snowboarding. Plus, it was kind of symbolic because I first learned to ski with my Aunt in Vermont.
If you don’t already know it…standing on a snowboard for the first time is nothing shy of awkward. Snowboarders ooze this laid-back coolness. Since I consider myself a pretty laid back person…certainly I could look just as “chill” on board. Notsomuch. Not only that…but a 30 yr old insurance lady on a snowboard for the first time is REALLY not cool…especially when she’s wearing a helmet.
In short, I took two classes (morning and afternoon) and fell down… a lot. Honestly, I did get better throughout the day…but no matter how you cut it, it’s just not possible to master something in 5 hours. So, what ends up happening is you feel really, really helpless, and it just gets frustrating. Before I knew it, the day was over and I was tired and sore. And, if I call a spade a spade, I “quit” before the lifts closed simply because I was tired of falling and running into stationary objects (or small children).
Here is my thinking at the end of the day…”Ya know Holls, you really don’t need to learn how to snowboard. You like skiing just fine. And really, be honest, didn’t you just want to know what the hype was all about? Well, now you know.”
So, my “Holley Maher personal take-away” was simply the self realization that I don’t need (nor can I) master everything. Nor will I enjoy everything. But I can (and should) try anything…well…except illegal drugs... Because sometimes, experiencing something new ends up giving you a deeper appreciation for the things you already know.
I became fascinated with snowboarding when watching the olympics and thought about trying it out for oh, about 30 seconds. I've never even been on skis before. Watching ME snowboard would be quite entertaining, I'm sure.
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