|
|
Calloway Gardens (Pine Mountain, GA) -- When we pulled up to the famous Calloway Gardens I felt a chill run through my body. I came to the realization that I was not there for the Jr. Masters this year, but I was one of the big girls now! The memory of looking out across Robin Lake two years before and telling my dad that I wanted to be back by the time I was 21 to ski in the big Masters came back to me quickly. I felt honored to be invited at the age of 19, earlier than I had ever imagined. Even though I was excited to simply be there, that didn’t take away the intense desire I had to succeed on Robin Lake. I knew I was the youngest and that I had some extremely experienced and tough competition ahead of me with women like Emma Sheers, Karen Truelove, and Natalie Hamrick. However, I wanted to ride in that boat parade and ski in the finals more than anything! Unfortunately it just wasn’t my day. I fell on my second pass and before I knew it I was swimming back to the shore holding back tears as I looked at all of the sympathetic faces on the pavilion. I was upset and it took me some time to calm down, but I guess every skier has those days. My experience at the Masters was bittersweet because I was happy to be there, but very disappointed with my bad performance. It took a while for me to get over it and rebuild my confidence, but eventually I picked myself back up again and realized it was time to start improving again! I learned at the Masters that although failure is painful it makes you stronger and it makes your desire to win more intense! I am now thankful to God that I made it there. It wasn’t my day, but it will be someday!
back to travel diary
|
