I also love sports because of the danger and thrill involved. Ski racing and cheerleading are among the most dangerous of sports. It can be hard because I've watched many friends get seriously injured, and had friends die. It is the hardest part of being involved in such dangerous sports, but I also respect this aspect of them. I like the adrenaline involved with both of them. The thrill of flying down a mountain at sixty or seventy miles an hour is like nothing else. Just as is the feeling of being thrown in the air. I love learning to have control over these situations that seem so out-of-control. It takes a lot of practice, but this is another thing I love. I never dread going to a practice. I love the feeling of improving my abilities and doing what I love to do. I try to never take practice for granted because I know the feeling of having a serious injury and not being able to practice.
My favorite part of sports would have to be competitions. They are the most stressful, nerve-racking, horrible things in the world, and I absolutely love them. The terrible feeling in your stomach when you are about to compete may seem horrible at the time, but once you get going, all of that adrenaline just fuels your fire. No feeling in the world can compare to that of having a great ski run or hitting a perfect routine.
I love doing sports. It is one of my favorite things in life. They have made me the person I am today and I hope to be doing sports for as long as I can.
This is world famous US Ski Team ski racer Ted Ligety doing slalom (my favorite event). He is my favorite male ski racer.
This is my favorite cheer routine of all time. It is
Cheer Extreme Senior Elite at Worlds 2010. It was an amazing performance with Maddie Gardner hitting the ball-up 360 tick-tok, my favorite stunt.
Music is very important aspect of my life. I'm really passionate about certain types of music, mostly rap, hip hop, r&b, and electronic. I have a lot of favorite artists, but the one who will always stand out most over everyone else is Lil B the Based God (real name: Brandon McCartney). He is my favorite artist because not only do I love his music, but I love what he stands for. Lil B is trying to make a difference in the world, and help people be more positive. Lil B is incredibly hard working. He easily has over 75 mixtapes and hundreds of songs online.
Most rap and hip hop artists are very absorbed in making money. They are obsessed with being wealthy and dropping singles that they think people will buy. It is very common for artists to make music according to how they think it will sell, but this is not how the Based God does it. In fact, a lot of Lil B's music is free. He even provides links to sites at which you can freely download his music. He understands that not everyone can afford to purchase the music they love, as Lil B grew up being very poor and even spending some time living on the streets. Lil B the Based God is a very understanding person, and a very good man.
It is a little complicated to explain Lil B the Based God to people who don't already have a passion for him, his music, and his way of life. It is called being "based". Being based is all about being a good, respectful, positive person who strives for success and works hard. He has some very based raps, which I love. His music always puts me in a better mood. Lil B always encourages people to be thankful and positive. People often say "TYBG" or "Thank You Based God", for helping them be based.
Lil B's music is my favorite thing ever. It varies a lot, from funny raps, typical hip hop, to very deep, meaningful songs. There is a great song for every type of mood you could be in. I love blasting a fun Lil B song in the car, or a calm one when I'm feeling down. Regardless of what Lil B song you're listening to, it will be based. Lil B has helped me in tough times of my personal life. He has helped me be a more positive and happy person on a daily basis. I love his music so much, it takes up pretty much the entire storage of my cell phone. I am proud to call myself based.
A based picture of Lil B
Lil B's song "Giving Up", very based. It helps me through hard times.
Out of all the experiences I have had in my life, when people ask about the best one, I always think back to winning the overall first place title at my race series. It was about two years ago when there was a race series being held at my home mountain, Winter Park. It was a three-day long race consisting of two slalom, giant slalom, and super giant slalom races. I had been working really hard for this race and put a lot of extra hours of training in. I did night training twice a week and took extra Friday's and Monday's off to train in addition to the weekends.
I was really nervous for this race because the competition was really high with everyone from other mountains, and also those on my own team. I definitely preform worse when I am under a lot of pressure, so I tried my best to stay calm. I thought about all the positives of the race; it was at my home hill and I knew the runs well, my skis were perfectly tuned with the right wax, I had been training really hard. But of course I had no choice but to acknowledge the cons as well. The weather was terrible all weekend, it was a giant blizzard, the competition was really tough.
The order of the events was Slalom Friday, GS Saturday, and Super G Sunday. Slalom was my best event, and I was glad it first. I wasn't very nervous, I felt pretty confident in Slalom. I was relieved after my run. When the results came in, I found that I had won first place. I was so excited. I was also really nervous, though, as I really wanted to place on the podium for an overall title. I wasn't sure if my GS and Super G runs would be strong enough to get a 3rd, 2nd, or certainly not a 1st place overall. But I tried to stay positive and focus.
Saturday was GS day. The blizzard was still just as bad, but at least I was a little used to it from the day before. I was pretty nervous, but I also held my ground. I felt ready from all my training. After my run, I felt pretty good about it. I waited for results to be posted to find again that I had one first place. I was ecstatic, I was definitely on the podium now, and I even had a shot at winning the big title.
On Sunday, my nerves were horrible. I was shaking and felt so sick that I threw up. I had the ability to mess it all up. Super G was not my best event, either. When I was getting ready to go, I was a mess. I was still shaking when I got in the gate. As I soon as I started, though, I was great. I could feel i was having a perfect run. Every turn was executed perfectly and no time was lost. I felt great when I got to the bottom.
When they announced results, I was so proud. I had one Super G as well. The overall title was mine. It felt amazing to have all my hard work pay off.
World champion Lindsey Vonn winning a slalom race (my best and favorite event).
