Did I ever tell you about the time when I was stuck in snow screaming for help and thought that was the end of life? Let me pull off this glove to get us started!
Skiing itself was an adventure. That day I decided to push myself to do something more adventurous. I took the ropeway to get to the top of the mountain and looked down. Everything below looked so tiny. I thought about all the 3000 times I already fell down that day. Fear slowly crept into my head looking at the massive path ahead of me. I pushed it off saying this is the last ski for the day so I better nail this! I started skiing down the bigger slope and my heart was already racing. I loved the speed, the blood rush, the biting cold. Halfway down, I flew in the air and my heart skipped a bunch of beats. I lost my landing position and fell hard with my head buried in snow. Thanks to my helmet and goggles, I was still alive. It was freezing cold. I thanked my stars and was about to get up. Well, I just couldn’t get up. It took me a few seconds to realise I fell on my face and tummy with my skis still on my feet. And the Ski poles were nowhere in my sight. I couldn’t stand. As simple as it sounds, anybody who went skiing can relate to how hard it can be to move around with skis on, and this was my first time!
Who falls like this? I remembered our instructor advising us to fall on our back every time we were about to fall. Now I know why he said that.
Plan A in my head was to scream for help. Solid 15 minutes. “Hello! Anybody there, Help!” I screamed to the top of my lungs. It was such a huge mountain, people barely heard me. I started wondering if this is the end. I was blanking out.
Plan B – to figure out a way to get up. The downward elevation prevented me from doing a side roll. The only option was to do a forward roll. When was the last time I did one? Maybe when I was 8. So here I gear up to do a forward roll when I suddenly remember I was on my periods. Can this situation get any worse? I apologised to my body for what I was going to put it through. With my skies still on, I used all my strength to do a forward roll in the snow, which almost felt like I was breaking my back. And I did it!
I sat in the snow and started wondering how the last 30 minutes were all about survival. I started picking up my ski poles when somebody came skiing to me and asked “Hey Sweetie, are you okay? I heard you screaming”. A huge grin appeared on my face. To the top of my lungs, I yelled “Yes! I thought I was gonna die. But here I am alive! Alive and Awesome”. And I burst out laughing. We did a high-five with our ski poles and toasted “To Life!”
Suddenly, life looked so simple. I let out a chuckle wondering how scared I was a while ago and how cheerful I was at that moment. Life could be as complicated as dying, as simple as breathing. As fleeting as time, as solid as love. It is all in our perspective. Cherish this moment. Embrace it. Love it.
I took my skis off. Of course, I was not skiing down anymore. I carried them in my hand, started walking down the hill, taking off my gloves when this picture was clicked. I sometimes wonder how I pulled off a smile after that fall. Maybe a sparkling recipe for life is living every day. Not just breathing, but owning every moment of life like it belongs to us. With smile, love, and life. ❤️✨
Vineesha Badabhagni 
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