Skiing has been a dream of mine for a long time, especially since I learned how to skate. Skating, at first, was a challenge, but I really took for granted the time and effort necessary to learn how to ski well.

On the way to the ski hill, the only thing on my mind was "will I fall down?" "What should I do if do fall?" And "will it hurt?" Even though these questions may not be asked by more experienced skiers, it really bothered me for a while. To be, or not to be? Just wait and see.

As any skier would, I dressed in warm and comfortable clothes and readied my equipment after I arrived at the hill. There were so many people there that I felt as if I were lost at sea—I really didn't know what to do. I was a little bit scared, my legs were trembling, and I knew I would fall very soon. I noticed my friends had already started, even though one of the first things they did was tumble to the ground! Still a little uncertain, I knew the hardest thing to do was to get started.

I stayed standing in one spot for ten minutes; I couldn't wait anymore, or the whole day would trickle away before my eyes. I stabbed my poles into the snow and gave a strong push…slowly, at first but then I started to pick up speed, ha-ha, but, but the next moment—going faster now—was the end! But looking back on it, it was actually the end of the beginning. The speed lasted for less than thirty seconds, and I toppled. Regardless, I am a VERY persistent girl, so I tried as hard as I could to get up to get up (by the way, it was very hard to stand up in the snow too, I will tell you about how I made it back on my feet later). To be honest with you, just on the beginners' slope, I don't know how many times I kissed the snow. Every time I thought I could ski well, like, say, Anja Paerson, then I would tumble again. Even though I was told you need to be ready to fall if you want to learn how to ski，I had to learn to stay on my feet, had to find a way to solve the problem.

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