seven things I learned at the ski week (post-aspen vibes)

1. Surround yourself with as many like minded people as you possibly can, as much as you possibly can. Emerging yourself in these types of situations will make you feel like you belong. I know we can all sometimes feel like sometimes we don’t. I felt instant bliss and camaraderie with these strangers within hours of knowing them. It's something I can't explain and you need to experience.

2. Sometimes, you are going to get knocked down on your ass. I did this quite a bit at ski week... I had someone in my crew one day say “You’re doing awesome!, I saw you fall and you just got up right away and kept going"

That sure sounds a lot like life…

3. It’s okay to fall behind. I was privileged to snowboard with some super talented guys from all over the world. This sometimes left me at the back of the pack. A few times I would get anxious that I was so far behind, "what if I loose them? What if they don’t want me to come with them anymore cause I'm slowing them down?" However, getting anxious about it really didn’t help me at all. As soon as I was able to realize that snowboarding isn’t a team sport… Falling behind allowed me to practice my technique. Also big perk, no one was able to see me fall cause they were so far in front. And every single time I had someone waiting for me at the bottom of the lift. All you need a crew that will support you no matter what, and that is exactly what I had.

4) You don’t always need to follow the pack. I had some of my favourite runs on the slopes this week by myself. I had a dope playlist. I was sticking to runs I was comfortable with and was able to try things out to see what was going to work for me. I went to yoga by myself which happened to lead me to one of the best parts of my trip. I attended a yoga class one day on the top of the mountain. This class had about 10 people in it all crammed in a tiny hut. After yoga there was a meditation class, which happens to be on my bucket list so I thought I’d stick around for it. Everyone from yoga was leaving. Not one person wanted to stick around for meditation. People asked me if I was going out to snowboard… and even though I really did want to try meditation class my instant answer was “Well I’m not going to stick around for meditation if no one else is” I didn’t want to be weird... I didn’t want to put the teacher out by making her stay just to teach me. But as beautiful as most yoga teachers are. She told me to stay and we could do a class with just me and her so I pushed my pride aside and practiced a mindful meditation with my gorgeous new yogi friend on the peak of a stunning mountain... it doesn't get more blissful then that.

5) Do things for the story. A few people wanted to go up and do a bikini run down the hill. Hey, I’m no Megan Fox but I am comfortable enough with my body that I thought this sounded like a great story for the grandkids. I didn’t realize until half way up the lift how horribly this could go if I fell. Which was a likely possibility in regards to how all the rest of my fully suited runs were going. I shared a mickey of vodka on the way up with 4 guys and as it just so happens, an Aussie babe who had a body probably better then Megan Fox. The vodka did make both these problems seem like less of a big deal. Guess what happened? I don’t know if it was the vodka or the mediocre technique but I caught a bad edge and shredded half of my body with a snow burn... in a bikini... and lots of people saw it. I spent the majority of the decent trying not to cry. (note: Did cry when I finished and saw my bloody leg) I was so overwhelmed with emotions when I finished. I was so proud, I was embarrassed, I was happy it was done, I was sad I felt like the left side of me just went through a cheese grater. But all and all this had to be one of my favourite parts of the trip. Don’t let the fear keep you from the fun. I promise you, You are braver then your giving yourself credit for.

6) You’re still cool if you don’t do drugs. Shocker right? I was a bit apprehensive attending a week like this because I felt I might be an outsider because I do not partake in party drugs. I don’t really have a problem with people who do. I always want everyone to have the best night ever and if drugs is what makes that happen for you please be careful and respect my decision not to. I was asked my second night if I wanted a “bump” I wasn’t sure if this meant drugs or sex or this guy just wanted an innocent fist bump with an explode on the end (I always explode on the end). Either way, thankfully I politely declined.

7) It’s okay if you can’t do goodbyes. I have struggled since I was a little girl with saying goodbye to people. I feel like saying goodbye is the official end of the wonderful time you had. I get so embarrassed because sometimes I cry and people are all “OMG, why are you crying?…” and it’s just awkward. I’m crying cause I’m sad your leaving me... I would legit prefer to write you a letter and I feel like I would still cry while I wrote it. As a girl who has said a lot of important goodbyes in her lifetime, If you ever encounter someone like me who either just doesn’t do goodbye, who might write you a note instead, or who might just say a casual goodbye like they’ll see you tomorrow… Respect it. If someone does happen to get emotional while you are saying goodbye. Support them. Tell them this isn’t the end. And if you’re someone like me, I’ve learned saying “I’ll see you soon” instead can sometimes help.