Dance like nobody is watching...

One of my favorite lessons was working with this little 14 year old girl Sierra. She had a developmental disorder. I go to the back to greet her and her mom. Bundled up little blondie is already with her skis on sitting on the bench. She sure was ready to go.  I liked it already, excited and eager to start skiing. As we scooted to the lift I chatted with her to get her talking and see what she wanted to accomplish on her lesson. She was really quiet and shy with short answers. We talked a little about her family and dogs.  (Key to kids… always ask if they have pets. It gives you limitless opportunities to stir up questions… No way! You have a dog? Me too!)

I had her follow me to see what she can do with her skis. She was pretty good with the pizza and controlling where she wanted to go. We can definitely handle Meadow. (The second beginner lift after Subway… Oh do I miss the awkward fall lines these runs)

We took our 7 minute ride up meadow. During this glorious ride I discover Sierra likes music and to dance! BOOM breakthrough! I enforced a rule: We MUST dance at all times! She happily agreed.

She followed me and mimicked my sweet moves. Everyone already knows I am an exceptional dancer so let the party begin. We clapped, hopped, Macarena-ed, and shook our booties all the way down the hill. I even got my boom botix and played some Taylor Swift and Katy Perry for some much needed tunes. Sierra was laughing and having a great time! I was so stoked to see her enjoying herself and having fun. From that point on we talked and joked about everything. She opened up and wasn’t the shy little girl for the rest of the lesson.

At the end of the lesson her mom met me and she was beyond thrilled. She said that she really never has seen her connect with another instructor before and she thanked me for that. That meant so much to me. I was so excited to have such a successful lesson and to really impact her like that. Yea her skiing may have not improved drastically but she had a great time and could just enjoy herself with out any worries. That is really what matters the most, your student leaving with a little more pep in there step than when they came in. 

the funnies and the fuzzies... An intro

I started an adventure right after I graduated from SDSU. Good thing I did because I would have no clue what I would be doing then. 

I have always wanted to move to Tahoe. It has always been my dream to live in the snow and be able to live the Tahoe lifestyle, barely getting by and skiing all the time. So it happened. I got an internship with Disabled Sports USA Far West at Alpine Meadows. I became an adaptive ski instructor for people with physical and cognitive disabilities. I really don’t know the exact words to describe the whole experience simply... but I will give it a shot. AWESOME, PHENOMENAL, HILARIOUS, EMOTIONAL, CHALLENGING, REWARDING, FRUSTRATING, EXCILIRATING, LOVING. FREAKING AWESOME… oops that was already used.

Interning at DSUSA has truly been the best thing I have ever done so far. I have gained experience and learned so much about so many things and people. I saw things that I didn’t think were possible. I have learned what the extent humans will do for each other. I learned a lot of about my self. I saw people enjoying life to the fullest and cherishing the precious moments. I am blessed to be able to share and be part of these special moments with amazing people whom I have met along the way, and now I want to share them with you. These are just a few stories that have stuck with me through out the season that have really meant a lot to me like making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside or nearly making me pee my pants from laughter. Here it goes.. The Funnies and  T he Fuzzies