College is probably the place with the most opportunities to try something new and go beyond your comfort zone. However, all the opportunities being thrown at you everywhere you go can be both intimidating and overwhelming. I recall going to UVA’s infamous Fall Student Activities fair one of my first days as a first year. I loved that there seemed to be so many clubs and organizations that reflected my interests and would serve as an avenue for me to meet like minded people and I eagerly put my name down for every interest form.
However, as classes began and their workload unfolded, the influx of emails from all these clubs and organizations I once was adamant I would be a part of were the least of my concerns. In addition, the thought of actually putting myself out there and joining organizations I wasn’t too familiar with was frightening and very much easier said than done. In the past, I had often stuck to what I was knowledgeable and experienced in and while this did help me advance in those fields, it stopped me from pursuing things that I thought I might enjoy and meeting people different from my normal crowd. I was at first very tempted to fall into that same old routine and stick to what I knew. College was already new and terrifying, so putting myself in positions where I would be even more so terrified seemed beyond me.
Almost falling into that cycle of familiarity, I remembered that college was the time to leave your comfort zone and get used to being uncomfortable. Growth only ever occurs by doing something new and what was the harm in trying? I swore to myself I would use my time in college to find myself and my passions and I was not going to turn back on that promise. I had never really been interested in sports but I found skiing interesting and was told that there was no experience needed to join VASST (UVA’s ski and snowboarding team). With the help and encouragement of my roommate we both signed up and decided to venture into a new experience.
Again, I had never in my life been skiing and although I am an active person, I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself an athletic one. Buying all the baddie ski gear and planning pictures was all fun but, actually having to ski down a mountain in front of people I had never met before, who all had seemingly been skiing prodigies ever since they were itty bitty children, was nerve-wracking. All of these people had skied with their families their entire lives and here I would be making a fool out of myself. In addition to that, the skiing crowd wasn’t very diverse which just added to my discomfort and feeling of not fitting in. All the worries and concerns aside, I made a commitment to myself to push myself beyond what I’m comfortable with and I persevered.
My first practice, my roommate and I had to get personally escorted by the security because I genuinely could not stand much less make it down the mountain. It was humiliating to say the least, but I persevered and showed up for the next practice. My second practice I learned from my mistakes and started off on the bunny slopes where I learned how to stand, somewhat pizza, and most importantly – get back up. Skiing alongside children half my size who would zoom by me was extremely humbling. However, I continued practice after practice to show up and try my best and by the end of the season, I could make it down a pretty decent sized mountain without falling once! It only took a couple hundred falls and countless bruises but I did it nonetheless.
This experience was not only exciting, fun, and a way for me to meet an entire new crowd of people, it was an opportunity for me to grow as a person, practice discipline, and hold myself accountable. I’m now even considering pushing myself even further to attempt racing next season which may seem a little far fetched seeing as I still have to aggressively pizza to not fall on my a*s but its a possibility I never would have contemplated had I not pushed myself to do the unfamiliar. I’ll forever carry the lesson learned through my first season skiing: getting back up and every time I fall and doing it all over again.