Why Do I Snowboard?

Why do I snowboard? A question I can answer with such enthusiasm and passion.  In an unusual description, I could relate myself and snowboarding to a relationship, a very positive and successful relationship.  Snowboarding brings the best out of me, is always there for me, and gives me a source to release all my negative emotions or a way to forget all the bad things going on in my life.  It pushes me to be a better person, by making me work hard, be truly dedicated, and also teaches me many life lessons.  Snowboarding has taught me what it takes to overcome obstacles, to never give up, to be brave, and what true strength is.  It has given me a chance to travel this beautiful world and to meet amazing people.  With all being said, what is there not to love about snowboarding?
Many people constantly wonder why I continue snowboarding, even through all the life-threatening injuries I have faced, caused by this sport. I have even wondered the same thing.  In fact, I came very close to quitting.  But I am not a quitter, I am a fighter.  And through all of my injuries, snowboarding has made me that much more of a better person.  It changed my outlook on life, to not take it for granted.  It focused my dedication to the gym, to staying strong and in shape, which is so essential to everyone.  It made me so passionate about healthy eating, and attracted me into going to college in pursue of a dietetics degree.  And finally, it taught me one of the most important lessons in life, to never give up, no matter how hard things get.
So in conclusion,  Snowboarding has made me the person I am today, and I will forever be grateful for that.
I will always love snowboarding!

shout-out to
http://allthingsadrenaline.com

ALWAYS having a smile on my face when I snowboard. 

Road Trip Adventures

I drove back to Utah from Colorado with two of my teammates, Duncan and Roger.  On the way, we made a few pitstops.  We stopped in a desert in Utah to have some fun and practice shooting.  We also stopped in the beautiful Moab Desert in Utah, to experience the beautiful country of ours.  Heres some photos of the trip!

No Pain No Gain, Right?

A few days after my first two races in Canada, I was off to my next races in Copper Mountain, Colorado.  With strong adrenaline from not doing as well as I hoped in Canada, I was determined to bring it at Copper.  Unfortunately, during the first day of training, I took a crash on a berm into the B-netting, and sprained my previously injured ankle again, as well as my achilles in the same ankle.  It has been very difficult for me, mentally, to wrap my mind around another injury.  But being my normal, stubborn self, I would not let another injury keep me from racing.  No pain no gain, right? I took the following day off of training to rest my ankle, and fought through the pain to complete a run during both competition days.  I went into these races, not with a goal of winning, but simply with a goal of fighting through the pain of my ankle, and doing the best I possibly could, even if it was just to make it down the course, slowly, without falling.  The first day of races, that is exactly how I did. I placed towards the end of the pack, but was grateful to finish, because I was in horrible pain the whole day.  I couldn't even walk, but I somehow managed to snowboard? Yes, I am crazy.  The second day I was much more satisfied.  I placed 20th, out of 38 athletes.  On a swollen, torn ankle, I would say this is decent.  With a little more than a week until my next race, I plan to rest my ankle, and stay off of it as much as possible, so I WILL place highly and qualify for Junior Worlds in Italy, my ultimate goal of the season.

prepping my race board!

pre-race selfie

the sprained ankle

Two of my favorite teammates,  Roger and Nick

Having fun at the airport, being my normal, goofy self!

Mount Tremblant, CA NorAm

January 28 and 29th were my first competitions of this season.  I felt 110% ready to finally get back to competing, after almost 2 years off.  Coming into this competition, I had very high expectations for myself, especially with the awesome way I had been riding this past month.  Unfortunately, my results were not as great as I had hoped.  I placed 18th the first day, and 17th the second day, out of 36 riders.  Though this is halfway in the bunch, my goal this season was to qualify within top 16 at every race, to be able to make it into heat races.  I was super bummed at first with myself, but after taking a step back and thinking about my progress, I was satisfied.  It had been almost 2 years since I raced, especially coming off of a horrible injury.  Though it would have been nice to make an amazing comeback, I believe that in time, it will all come back to me.  Until then, I need to continue working as hard as I can, and strengthen my mental game, to bring it at the remainder of the races this season.