This winter, I attempted one of the hardest sports for me in my life, skiing. Before going skiing, I had thought that I would get the hang of it quickly, though there was always little doubt nagging me in the back of my mind. But after a while, the nagging became annoying and I got mad at myself. I stubbornly closed the door on such ideas and continued to make my last preparations for the following day. When I arrived on the mountain, I realized that this sport literally chilled to the bone unlike the other new sports I had tried, like golf or tennis. My clothing became soaked by snow within minutes of skiing. And the first few moments were so embarrassing, I could have stuck my head under a bed and blubbered.
My first time skiing was with my Boy Scout Troop at Big Bear Lake. I wanted to earn the Snow Sports Merit Badge, which every scout said was very fun. My friend Darren and I, along with our parents, arrived at Big Bear Lake early in the morning. Mr. Garth, our Scoutmaster, and several other scout families were already there. As soon as we rented our equipment (the stiff boots are so annoying!), Darren and I set out toward the powdery snow. I wasn’t the least bit worried about failing in skiing, because I thought it would be easier than me eating an egg and I love eggs.
As soon as our Merit Badge class started, I proved myself wrong about how hard skiing was. The first time I tried to ski to the counselors and the other scouts, I zoomed down the slope too fast, lost my balance, tripped over a fence, and crash landed in front of them. The Scouts tried unsuccessfully to mask their laughter and ended up snorting, much like pigs. I tried to look dignified, but that’s really hard when you’re sitting, half buried by snow and entangled in your own legs and skis. This just made my fellow scouts laugh even harder and hurt my feelings even more. Now, I was loathing and regretting doing this, but since I signed up, I had to finish. Finally, to my relief, the lesson started. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one who was bad at skiing. But soon, I started to get the hang of it, and pulled ahead of some others. Now I was thinking I had some hope in skiing.
Toward the end of the lesson, I had become an experienced beginning skier and had also successfully gotten the Snow Sports Merit Badge. But the hills we were on were beginner levels, and now I was ready to try harder ones. I was almost scared out of my skin when I saw some of terrifying slopes. The other scouts also gasped, so I think they felt the same way I did. I was sure I couldn’t make it down in one piece. But , miraculously, I made it, although I stumbled a couple of times. After I got used to the slope, I sped down the hill with more ease. It felt so good to rush down through the snow on my skis. We finally stopped in the late afternoon when it started to drizzle, but I still felt that I hadn’t had enough yet.
After we got in the car to go home, I was satisfied about my day. It had gone well, although there were some “slight” embarrassment. But I still think that skiing is more fun than embarrassing. My first attempt at skiing was a success!
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