New Years Resolution -> Don't be so RECKLESS with your body...

So I would love to say that I took my own advice and tried to take it easy on my body this year....but that just wouldn't be me. Ever since I was a little girl I would always throw myself into things 250%, especially anything physical. I hated not being good at something and would push and push and push myself to get better with literally no fear. And I mean that. I mean no fear as in no fear of getting hurt or not being able to do something. My parents still tell me stories about how I used to throw myself down the ski hill when I was little or never ever hold myself back on the mat or in the gym. I apparently terrified my mom. Can you imagine a mother watching her kid be so competitive and fearless? I'm pretty sure it would terrify me actually. I guess it's just part of my charm as my best friend put it yesterday. I was telling her last night exactly what I've done to myself now and she wasn't even surprised. When I hurt myself it's all or nothing. It's either the worst case scenario or the best...no middle ground. So this time was no different...

I was up north having a very fun weekend with twelve lovely ladies and I really wanted to try some skiing. I had the time of my life snowboarding the week before so I really wanted to ski. Unfortunately, skiing definitely didn't like me. It was the most embarrassing and painful experience of my life! Not only was I completely hopeless at it, but had the most brutal falls. I mean those types of falls where your hat and goggles and poles go flying....your body gets thrown down the hill....skis pop off...it was a disaster. But I have to say that even though it was painful and frustrating, I kept going. I was actually getting the hang of it and managed to make it down a blue diamond (whatever that means) without falling once! So we decided to do one last run to finish off the day and that's when I think my luck really turned on me...

To make a very long and painful story short...I caught a very bad icy edge fell very very hard as I was going ridiculously fast (too fast) and my skis didn't pop off. So my body went tumbling one way and my skis (still on) got caught and just twisted my right knee. I heard that horrible snapping sound when you know you just tore a ligament. Even before I fell I knew it was bad. My whole leg was on fire and I wasn't even going to try and move it. So paramedics had to come and snowmobile me down to the bottom, which was the most embarrassing thing ever, and we had to immediately get me to a hospital. I ended up on crutches and a lot of painkillers. It's the first time I was ever on crutches and I hate them. They make you feel like you are absolutely helpless. I couldn't even get a glass of water for myself and bring it to where I was resting. It was brutal. I'm off them now but have a very long recovery to go...but I know I can handle it....serves me right for trying to have a little fun with my newfound freedom...

Moral of the story... NO TRAINING = TROUBLE :)

Happy New Years!!!

I still can't believe 2008 is over and it's actually 2009! HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY!



It's definitely that time of year where you reflect on the past and look ahead to the future and figure out what you really want in your life. That's what I love about resolutions. They really show you exactly where you are and what kind of person you've become and want to be....

My one very big new years resolution is to not care so much about what others think about me and stay as far away from drama as I possibly can....

I know it might sound like a weird resolution, but I constantly find myself in situations that people wouldn't even believe. I am put in the middle of friends, the middle of rumors (horrible ones at times) and the middle of things I definitely don't want any part of. I really just want this year to be DRAMA FREE! That is a big thing to hope for, but I'm going to try my very best to have a fresh start. I want to pull away from those who bring me down and surround myself with the real people who care about me. Sometimes I think when I put all my energy into making everyone else around me happy or not mad at me, it ends up backfiring. My best friends like to tell me I'm too nice in situations and walk right into trouble. Don't get me wrong, for those of you who know me I know I am extremely confident, independent and confrontational BUT what I think they mean is that I really don't want to start any trouble at all. The problem has and always will be that I won't back down to anyone who is talking behind my back and I will defend myself and my friends no matter what. You can see how that might cause some issues....

What I don't understand is that I'm 21, in my fourth year at University, and I still feel like I'm back in high school sometimes. It is just such a waste of time for everyone involved. It's crazy how rumors can get so out of hand and blown out of proportion that people you thought you could trust and who were your friends actually believe it. I just found out that that is exactly what's been going on with a few people I know back in Toronto recently. I was pretty upset about it, but I woke up today and realized that there's nothing else I can do. I know what I know and I can sleep at night knowing that I've been honest with everyone, but I can't change everyone's mind or opinion. I came to terms with the fact that people are going to judge me on preconceived assumptions and false accusations, but that happens all the time and I have to let it roll off my back. I've realized that life is never going to be perfect and not everyone is going to like me or my actions, but that's life. If you live every day worrying about what is making other people happy you won't be happy and I definitely want to be happy. I am putting anything negative from the last year behind me and moving forward into this new year and can't even imagine where I'm going to end up.

What's your new years resolution?

SNOWBOARDING

Once upon a time before I had extreme responsibilities to not get injured in some reckless way I used to ski! I wish I had a picture of my sister and I back then because we were absolutely hilarious. The last time I was out on the slopes was about 12 years ago. My family used to go up north a lot and my dad, sister and I loved it. My mom hated being cold (still does) and was more than happy to sit in the chalet by the fireplace all day while we were flying down the hills. One of the things I had to give up for gymnastics was skiing. At the time I was more than happy to because I knew I couldn't risk getting hurt, but for the first time in my life I could be out there again. I've been talking and talking and talking about getting back into it for awhile now, but didn't really know were to start. Enter Brianna :)

Brianna is one of my best friends from high school, who has always been there for me. She is one of those friends that you can go to with anything and she would never judge you. I've leaned on her shoulders many times and vented about training, family, boys...you name it. We rarely get to see each other now that we're at different Universities, but over winter holidays she just called me up and told me to get myself up to her cabin. It was a pretty spontaneous decision and I literally drove up to Collingwood for not even 24 hours to get a crash course in...you guessed it...SNOWBOARDING!!! Her family took me in and gave me all the equipment necessary so I didn't kill myself (well I think they were keeping their fingers crossed) and we were off!

Once I was actually at the top of the hill, which was let me tell you the funniest experience of my life getting there, I found out it was even more difficult to stand up once I was strapped in. For all of you who have never snowboarded before, trying to walk with one boot strapped in and your foot awkwardly turned in while you're trying to slide/walk to the lift is the most hilarious experience EVER. I'm laughing thinking about how ridiculous I must've looked. Anyways, I somehow got that whole part down and once I was actually up and standing I turned to what just felt natural and took off down the hill. Brianna had given me some tips before I actually took off, but do you think I actually listened to her? Let's just say that I took some very hard falls, but I LOVE the speed and with Brianna helping me out and figuring out why I was falling I was actually snowboarding! I have never felt anything like that before in my life. I can't even describe it. Flying down that hill gave me this insane adrenaline that coursed through me. It was unbelievable and I can honestly say I've fallen in love. I haven't been that happy like that since over a year ago and I owe it all to Brianna and her amazingly generous family!!! What do you think? My next sport maybe?