The junior ski trip was eventful, to say the least. Personally, I was able to experience what it was like to feel inferior to 5 year olds and make a silly fool of myself, on a pair of seemingly unmanageable sticks attached to my feet. What made the trip memorable however was not the skiing part. Rather the relative yet surprising amount of freedom, late nights, and bonds formed just from sharing an experience made the trip worthwhile.

            I was a first time skier, decided to take lessons, but ultimately I thought I was pretty capable of taking on the slopes. Even before departing for the trip I imagined myself cruising down the mountains like some talented skier who was just waiting for her calling (we all know how that feels). I was greatly disappointed when, after not even being able to go uphill with my skis, I began to doubt that skiing was going to be a piece of cake. Almost immediately following my brief ski lesson I felt brave enough to go with a friend midway up the ‘Mogul Mouse Mountain.’ What sounded like an easy cruise down a childishly-named mountain spotted with millions of little kids, became a nightmare. During the course of this nightmare, I had fallen four times and was aided by four people. I must have looked really pitiable because one of those four people even instructed me while sitting on the ski lift above. Besides the skiing, (for those who have trouble skiing like me, or those that did not intend on skiing or snowboarding on the trip), there is the fun zone, teen alley, and tube sledding that are all fun and entertaining. These places make you feel like a little kid again as you run with the same enthusiasm and excitement alongside them, and maybe even challenge them to a race in the blow up competition course.

Overall I learned many important lessons on this trip. I learned (through experience) how to get up after a fall and how to fall “correctly.” I also learned never to forget your room key, never trust a bus with an eight hour journey, and never under any circumstances should you even think about putting a pizza box in an oven. Yet, with all of the ups and downs of the trip, I still enjoyed every minute of it. By no means are you ever bored with nothing to do and nobody to talk to. Just getting away from the methodical, dulling cloud that intense schoolwork and ordinary Staten Island can cast over everyone is a welcome relief, even if it is for only a weekend. Most of all, this trip can be a chance for everyone to let loose and act like a kid again. Even if you fall, the snow is soft. You will gladly pick yourself up again with a resilience and joy that we all used to experience as children.