The glare of the windshield temporarily blinds me as I take the left turn out of my driveway. It is an early Saturday November and the frost has been procrastination its transition to snow. “We can’t keep taking care of you. You need to find a job if you want to keep your car” The stern words from my mother resonate in my mind like a high pitched tuning fork disturbing my mental peace. I hate working, but not as much as I hate asking for things from strangers. That put me in a very uncomfortable mood as kept running thorough every failure I would soon meet when asking straightedge clean cut business guys for a job. I just want to have fun and leave responsibility to the people who like it I think as a ray of sun strikes my eyes momentarily blinding me while I finished the turn.

“Huuuuhh” I sigh laving behind my childish thoughts of a worry free live. I know that growing up means growing into a life of self sufficiency and I had finally been called out by my parents to start taking care of my own finances. “Where to go first”, is my next thought as I accept the fact that I need to face my fears and tackle the beast head on. In mid thought between selling Bicycles and pouring coffee my phone erupts from the passenger’s seat.
“Hello?” I answer.
“HEY BUDDY!” sounds the very familiar voice of my best friend Jordan. “What are you up to Kid!”
“Meh, looking for a job”, I respond with disdain. Every nerve I possess is aching to meet up with Jordan and forget about this whole job thing that is making my head feel like a Pineapple.
“No Kidding. You should come to Butternut with me! Today is the first day and they are having the instructor clinics for anyone who wants to apply.”
Jordan has been a snowboard instructor at Butternut, The local ski area, for two years and has been trying to recruit me ever since but I have always declined saying that working at the ski mountain will make snowboarding a job and therefore kill all the fun in it.
“I dunno, I don’t think my mom would be happy if I went snowboarding instead of applying for a job”, I respond.
“BUT YOU ARE APPLYING FOR A JOB!!! YOU’RE COMING TO WORK AT BUTTERNUT!”
Something in the Volume and sincerity in his voice strikes me. For the first time I really consider what it would be like to teach snowboarding. I picture myself with a group of kids, all eager and excited with smiles bigger than their faces learning the coolest sport ever! My anxiety about finding a job instantly trickles away the more I think about actually being an instructor. I feel my heart flutter and I am lifted in the air from the weightlessness of my enthusiasm that came on so suddenly. There is nothing I would rather do more at this moment than go to Butternut and apply for the best job I could possibly have, because what could be better than teaching the world how to do the very thing you are most passionate about?
“I’ll see you there in like 10 minutes”
“Yeah!?”
“Yeah bud, see you soon.”
“Ha ha!” he cries with excitement, “I knew you’d come around, Bye bud”

Putting down my phone the reality of the last minute settles in. As my weight sinks back into my seat and my nerves calm like the after storm I think about how perfect being a snowboard instructor is for me. Why hadn’t I thought of it earlier? I chuckle thinking back to the stress I felt before Jordan called and realize that it is possible to be responsible without forcing myself to do something that just isn’t fun.