It was my first time in Vermont and I could not wait. As we crossed the border from Massachusetts to Vermont, all I could see was piles of thick snow and colossal mountains in the distance. Our family stayed at a ski house owned by some close friends which was right near Okemo resort. The mountain at Okemo was the biggest mountain I had ever seen. I knew it was going to be a great February break.
The day after we got there we all went to Okemo to snow tube. The hills for snow tubing were really fun, but my mind was focused more on the people snowboarding. I had always wanted to try snowboarding, but I had never been this interested before. At the end of our day, my parents and I went to rent a snowboard and equipment and reserve a lesson. When we arrived, the amount of number needing to be signed was unimaginable. It seemed forever until I actually got measured for the equipment. When I went to get measured, I got a helmet, goggles, a snowboard, and these huge boots! Those boots were so huge and thick that after putting them on, it was difficult to walk and I could barely bend my ankles. Before we left the rental shop with all the gear, my parents and I had to schedule a lesson for me. I knew how to balance on a snowboard and strap into one so I thought that a level two class would be best for me. My lesson was scheduled for the next day and I couldn’t wait to begin snowboarding.
The following day, I got up, ate a little breakfast, put my gear on as fast as I could, and bolted to the car. Apparently, it was only 7:00 a.m. and my dad refused to get up. My lesson didn’t start for another three hours. When 9:30 came, I packed up and went with my dad to Okemo. When we got there I had around 20 minutes until the lesson started so I decided that I should try out my snowboard on the practice hill. When I got to the top of the hill, I strapped in and edged my way towards that hill. It was intimidating looking down at the hill and I started to feel butterflies in my stomach. I had sudden thoughts such as, “What if I hit someone?” or “How will I stop?” Despite these setbacks I went down the hill anyway. It was great for the first two seconds. The wind was blowing in my face and I could feel my hear racing. Suddenly, I realized that I needed to slow down. I was clueless when it came to stopping or turning. The only way to stop myself from ramming into innocent snowboarders and skiers was to fall. When I landed on the ground it hurt a little bit, but then I stood up and went up to my dad to go to my lesson. He said to me, “Hey, it could’ve been worse,” to cheer me up. I wasn’t mad, it was my first time snowboarding anyway so I just laughed walked over to where the instructors were. I found my instructor and the rest of the class and we all walked over to the practice mountain. When we got to the mountain he wanted to see what we could all do. Everyone else was about the same as me, they couldn’t stop or turn, but they could balance on the board and they all could strap themselves in. During the lesson, he showed us how to stop by turning our board. I fell forward the first few times but I managed to do it. The most difficult part of the lesson was turning. This was difficult because I either stopped and lost momentum or fell down. This was not so easy for me and I was not able to do if for the remainder of the lesson. I was really frustrated and I started to question if I should continue snowboarding.

I went in to eat lunch and sat down, a little angry at myself. I thought to myself, “How could I not do it after the instructor had showed me several times?” I started to doubt myself. I asked myself, “Should I continue doing this, or should I give up?” I decided that I will not give up and would keep practicing till I was able to turn. After lunch, I went back out to try the turns on the practice slope. My form was good and I had great balance, but I still kept falling every time I tried to turn. But soon, after an hour of practicing, I started to turn side to side without falling down. I felt a rush of joy surge through me. I was proud of myself that I finally was able to do it. From that moment on, I fell in love with snowboarding and have been snowboarding every year since. When we got back to the ski house, I could not keep the accomplishment to myself and told everyone that I had learned how to snowboard officially. The rest of the night was great; my friends and I watched a movie, ate pizza, and played video games. When we went to bed I could not fall asleep because all I thought about was the next day; another day of snowboarding.
My overall experience with snowboarding was an amazing journey with a couple of “bumps” across the way, especially turning. Even though I was frustrated, I still was able to learn how to snowboard in the end which was all I wanted to accomplish. Today, I can now go on trails and it is amazing. The wind in your face and the speed with the jumps makes you feel like you're on a roller coaster which to me is the best feeling in the world.