I had two options.

First, I could ask the attendant to let me take the lift back to the main part of Seven Springs. Second, I could actually attempt to make it down the mountain by myself.

Don’t ask me why, but I chose the latter.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply, thinking it would somehow get me motivated to stand up on my board, but it did no such thing – I remained where I was in the snow, unable to budge.

Either way I looked, people were racing past. I was nervous they might run into me, but that still didn’t change my mind about moving.

After a few minutes, I realized I was acting like a child and had to do something about it. I couldn’t believe that I had let my anxiety take control, so I pushed myself up and faced the trail. There was no way I was going to allow myself to chicken out like usual.

I made sure my goggles were secure, steadied myself on my snowboard, and took a deep breath. “It’s now or never,” I whispered.

Two years have passed since that day, and as you can see, I survived. Despite being one of the scariest experiences I’ve ever had, it was also the most amazing.

Fear is something that everyone has, but it shouldn’t get in the way of anything. Once you give yourself over to that feeling, you’ll never recover.

You need to feed off of it and let the adrenaline rush through your body. You cannot be afraid. Instead, you should work against your obstacles.

Take it from me, a girl who has learned that life needs to be lived: Don’t shy away from anything, because you’ll regret it.