My First Love…

I am very grateful for my childhood. It was very unique and different. When I was only two years old, I discovered my first love; skiing.

 I did have a successful ski racing career with many highs and many lows. I will share with you some of my most proud and favorite memories from my career. My proudest accomplishment was winning the Junior Olympics and qualifying for Worlds. I represented the US in the Whistler Cup and raced against girls from around the world, who were also representing their countries. This was an experience I will never forget. Another proud moment in my skiing career was competing with the greats like, Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. Lindsey Vonn was my childhood role model. In one of my last years of competing, I got to kick out of the start gate right after her at US Nationals. That was one of the most surreal moments in my entire life because as a little girl I never thought at sixteen, I would get to compete against the greatest ski racer of all time. Another high moment in my career was getting to ski different slopes all over the world. Training and competing in Europe and South America exposed me to the many beauties of this world. All of the amazing experiences I had ski racing is what formed me into the hardworking and fearless dream chaser that I am today.

I started alpine ski racing when I was 5 years old in Taos, New Mexico. When I was 10 years old, I began moving to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to train and race at the next level. Each year, I would attend school in Albuquerque, where I also played soccer, transfer to my Colorado school for the winter, and then, finish the school year back in Albuquerque. I maintained this from 5th grade until I graduated high school. Although transferring schools each year was difficult at times, it taught me how to adapt to any social setting, how to use YouTube to teach myself anything, and how being organized was a must if I wanted to compete against the best. 

When I was eighteen, I made a bold decision to start the “second chapter” of my life. I got everything out of the sport that I wanted and was ready to take on a new adventure. I traded the mountains for the beach and began my new life here in San Diego. I may have retired from ski racing, but now I apply the lessons  I learned from being a competitive athlete, to every aspect of my life.  The things I have brought forward is my ability to work hard, to always get back up when I fall down, to know that whatever I want in life I will be the one to make it happen, to always be teachable, how to save a lot of time from learning from those who came before me, and to always continue to grow personally. Most importantly, it taught me that life is an unpredictable adventure, and that is what makes it beautiful and exciting!