Welcome back
Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends
or
LOG IN WITH FACEBOOKNo account? Create one
Sports
5 Things You Should Know Befor Skiing For The First Time
Most importantly, have a positive and optimistic attitude!
21 January 2019
1219
After taking a day of skiing lessons yesterday at Pocono skiing resort, my sisters and I realized that skiing wasn't what we expected it to be. Don't get us wrong, it was still fun skiing but there were a lot of things my sister and I didn't see coming before taking the ski lessons.
1. Skiing boots are uncomfortable to wear
After getting my skiing boots in my proper shoe size, I never expected the boots to be so heavy and tight to wear. Even taking the boots with a bigger shoe size, I still ended up with the same result. When meeting up with the ski instructor, the ski instructor asked us if our boots are comfortable to wear. Of course, my sisters and I exchanged looks and said with an uncertain tone that the boots were fine. The funny thing was, our ski instructor knew right away that we were lying and told us that the boots were meant to be uncomfortable. And sadly, he said this was something we must get used to when skiing.
2. Putting the boots onto the skis can become very frustrating to do
Before you go skiing, you must attach the skis to your boots. All you have to do is align your foot to the binding of the ski and slam your heel onto the ski, so that way the ski gets attached to the heel. Sounds very simple to do, right? I got this on my first try but this had proven to be difficult the next times I did it. The most troublesome thing is aligning your foot straight because if you don't align your foot correctly, the ski won't be attaching to your boot at all. This can get very frustrating because you might lose your mood for skiing after unsuccessful attempts and you might even lose your balance and fall while doing this. If this happens to you, my best advice for you is to stay patient when attaching boots to your skis and keep trying, otherwise, you will ruin your mood for skiing.
3. Skis are very heavy to carry
At first glimpse, the skis look light to carry. But in fact, they are not. When walking towards Bunny hill (where the ski lessons take place) with your uncomfortable boots and the ski poles, the skis are a heavy burden and most of the time, you might be complaining how heavy these skis are. Unlike the ski poles (which are very light to carry), you will be bothered by the heaviness of the skis and you will find yourself very happy after dropping all that heavy weight of the skis onto the snowy ground when you have the chance.
4. Your legs will ache
From what our ski instructor taught us, all the power of skiing came from our knees. We had to assert all our weight in our knees otherwise you won't skiing at all. In other words, you won't move at all. After when the lessons were over, I found that walking back to the rentals is a struggle. Not only do you have to carry all your equipment, but you will have to carry them on weak legs that are sore from the skiing.
5. Falling is fun
I can't believe I'm saying this but falling is actually the fun part of skiing! To be honest, I was very nervous about skiing because I know that I might fall a bunch of times. But I didn't because I only fell once! I fell into the mud on my first attempt of skiing on my own. What is fun about this is seeing other people ending up in the mud right next to you. It just shows that there is nothing to be embarrassed about at all and everyone is struggling as much as you. Although my gloves got dirty, I still wanted to ski. Not to mention, falling is such a relief because you can finally stretch out your legs after all that work on your knees.
But more importantly, have a positive and optimistic attitude! This will ensure the ski instructor that you are enjoying skiing and you are having fun! If you are thinking of taking ski lessons, I hope this is indeed helpful!
Keep Reading...Show less
Health and Wellness
Your Pain Doesn't Make You Special
Everyone goes through rough patches, your rough patch doesn't mean you get special treatment.
07 January 2019
51
https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-alone-black-and-white-dark-551588/
I know what you're thinking. You read that title and immediately thought "wow this chick is not nice." Regardless of the truth in that statement, I stand by my claim in the title.
Your pain does not make you special. I am sorry that you are in pain or that you were or that you have been before. I really am. It sucks, trust me I know. But here's the deal: everybody goes through stuff. I don't know a single person who hasn't gone through a rough patch.
For example, my sophomore year of college I just really went through it. I have never cried so much about so many different things. And yes, my grades slipped and I was mean to people and I was hateful and bitter that I was hurting and everyone around me seemed to be so happy. I distinctly remember one night, after everyone had gone to bed, laying in my bed silently sobbing and thinking to myself, "this is so unfair.
Everyone else is living it up and acting like college is this glorious time and I can barely get myself up in the morning to go to class."
I felt isolated and so betrayed that it didn't seem to affect anyone or anything that I was hurting so much. It didn't matter to my professors, it didn't matter to my boss, and it didn't matter to the universe. And I don't mean it didn't matter, as in nobody cared, but life goes on around you.
Even when you feel like you're standing in the middle of a major highway while traffic zooms by you in all directions. And you keep trying to run to the edge of the road to the safety of the curb, but no matter how hard you try your feet just won't move
But sometimes that's life. And that sucks. It really does. But shortly after that night, I started journaling. Not every day but when I felt like it. And through that process I realized something. My pain doesn't make me unique. It doesn't make me stand out from the crowd. I don't deserve or need any special treatment or pity or sympathy because I was going through a rough transitional phase.
Everyone goes through those phases and as pessimistic as it sounds, that's part of life. We don't know the highs without the lows. And we don't deserve a cookie or special treatment or anything like that just because of it. I will say that if you are going through this right now, you can get through it. There is a finish line even if you cannot see it.
Keep Reading...Show less
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Student Life
Top 5 Thoughts Of An Overworked College Student
These five thoughts should seem extremely familiar.
30 July 2018
55
https://unsplash.com/photos/oOEz7c7V3gk
Oh, the life of an overworked college student. Fabulous! As we go about our days, these are the thoughts we are all constantly thinking.
1. “My body aches”
At nineteen years old, nearly every other breath I have found myself ranting about how my body hurts. It could be from sprinting to class or from having to be in one thousand places at once, but no matter what, something seems to always ache.
After sitting with the most manageable posture after the eighth hour of studying, I often can hear my back screaming at me, pressuring me to go back to bed as it has just about had it. With papers upon papers having to be typed, my wrists then often feel like they could end up immobile. After a few hours into my day, my body often has me praying that this life of a college student slows down some, hopefully sometime soon.
2. “This could go on my resume”
I am constantly thinking of how my resume could be built. As the life of an overworked college student is extremely busy, there is so much that I consider to add to my resume, and I am always thinking of ways to strengthen it. Being such a "busy-bee", the constant thought of mine is which involvements of mine are the most important to add. I then begin thinking of when I will find time to add them.
3. “I must find caffeine nearby—and at this point, any coffee shop would work.”
Thank goodness for caffeine. With so many things to think about during the day, I always plan to pick up my morning coffee before I begin any of these large tasks. Whether I am heading to class, on my way to work, or spending the day at the beach with friends, I always try to factor in time to grab my morning coffee. It is the one thing that gives me some energy to conquer whatever I have planned for the day.
4. “If I take a ten minute nap, I should be able to make it on time.”
While school is in session, this is a constant thought of mine. As long naps are not much of an option with my eighteen credits and outside involvements, I have found myself returning from a class to take a nap during the ten-minute gap until I must leave for my next class. These extremely quick naps are not the most fun, but they do add that extra ounce of energy that I need to function after the little sleep I am able to get at night.
5. “I’ll sleep on the weekend, maybe.”
I consider myself lucky when I get four hours of sleep on a weekday. With my schedule, I often find myself maximizing every hour of my day, and praying that I'll get at least two hours of sleep before I have to wake up in the morning for class. By Tuesday, I am often promising myself that I will find time to sleep on the weekend because by then I usually can tell how little sleep I will acquire the rest of the week.
Being an overworked college student will definitely be rewarding in the end, but these five thoughts are extremely common with our current overflowing schedules. Grab your cup of joe, stock up on naps, and power through! We'll make it though.
Keep Reading...Show less
She wrote her name
And then erased it.
She wrote the month
And then erased it.
She began to write a title
And erased it once more.
And then,
The paper tore.
Once on a white page of paper
With red margins and blue lines.
She wrote:
Thank you.
And then she laughed
At the absurdity.
Then erased the word thank
Leaving you.
And then she cried.
Just like the day at the church.
The day she knelt at the pews.
Once on a piece of paper
With coffee stains and smudges of dirt on the sides
Her marker bled through the page.
The way her tears did to her eyes.
She crumbled up the piece of paper and placed it in her bag.
And went along to school, to work.
Because that was all she now had.
One day, on a fresh sheet of paper
She took the originally torn paper,
The page with red margins and blue lines,
The piece stained with coffee and smudges of dirt,
And stapled them together.
On this fresh sheet of paper.
She took a deep breath and steadied her pen.
She titled it:
Mess.
Because that was what she was without him.
But laughed, knowing he'd say
That, that was what she was with him anyways.
And then she smiled for the first time today,
In a quirky kind of way.
Before she left,
She lit a candle by the grave,
Left the pieces of paper on the side,
And wished them both
A happy birthday.
Keep Reading...Show less
