The trees that once were green, are now a beautiful pearl white, gleaming in the snow surrounding them. The snow makes up hills, and what seems like valleys, the sharp, jagged mountains enclosing the graceful scene. The wind brushes against my face, and I feel a sharp tingle across my cheeks. I look up at the small slope I just skied down. A warm feeling spreads in my body. I look up at the blue sky, and take it all in.

     I am about to go up the slope again, when  I see my dad walking towards me. “Why don’t we try this one?” He says, pointing at a slope that comes out of the woods, my eyes shift towards the top, and the hill seems like it goes on forever. I think of all the bad events that could happen if I go down that hill, something I have been doing since I was little. After considering this, I give a small shake of my head, embarrassed that I was too scared  to. “Okay, but we will try at some point before we leave.” My dad responds. I mutter an “Okay”, and continue skiing on the small hill. When I get to the top of the hill each time, I feel excited, and push off. I could never describe the feeling I get for a minute, when I am skiing, I almost feel invincible, until I get to the bottom, and start again. I do this until I get bored, and scramble over to where my dad is sitting. He’s drinking a hot coffee, the steam rushing out, like a train.“Can we do a different hill?” I ask, not liking that he was right, he had talked to me earlier about how I was going to get bored, but I brushed the comment aside. He nods, and puts on his skis, and we push our way through the crowd of laughing adults, and crying children. We finally get to the line for the ski lift. My dad talks reminds me how to slow down, and what to do if I am going too fast. I nod my head occasionally, but I am thinking about the slope, it seems like a giant compared to the slope I was going down before.

 We wait for what feels like an eternity. Finally it’s our turn to jump on the ski lift. When we go up, I can feel the cold air blow plastic, sending a shiver down my spine.I can see the mountains in the distance, the tops covered with snow. I look at the slope I am about to face, and my stomach feels like the ski lift, going up and down, never ending. Once we reach the top, I make myself hop off the lift, wanting to just stay on, and let it bring me to the bottom. I look down at the end of the hill, and my stomach churns. I see my dad urging me to ski down, but I can’t make myself do it. I chastise myself for not being brave enough, I see my dad take off, and ski down the hill, moving from side to side, getting tinier, as he reaches the bottom. A wave of heat flashes through me, my palms are sweating, and feels like the sweat will soak through the thick gloves on my hands.The only way to the bottom is down, I tell myself. I take a breath, and let myself go. I push myself, and I feel the winter air against my face, and my neck. I can’t help but smile. My speed increases, and I ride over a bump, and for a minute I am airborne. The next second, I am on the ground, my face covered with snow. I wipe my face, and look around. The tears in my eyes are making my vision blurry as I try to look for my dad, but I find him on the bottom already. I dig my gloves in the soft snow, frustrated. I just want to stay here, and never move, but I tell myself that I can’t do that. I know at some point I’ll have to get up. You can do this, you can do this, I repeat. I push myself up, and get myself situated. I push my body down the hill, going slow and steady. When I reach the bottom, I feel a sense of accomplishment. 

I see my dad and shuffle my way towards him. “That wasn’t too bad, right?” He asks. “Nope!” I say, with a grin on my face. Even though I fell, I still had fun. We head towards the slope again, this time I am not nervous, I know that I will probably fall, but I will push through it. After we go down the same hill a couple of times, we head home. When we are in the car, I imagine myself skiing down hills that are never ending. I look through the car window, and see the slopes get smaller, and smaller as we drive away.