How has the place you grew up in shaped who you are today?

The place I grew up in has given me many opportunities and has shaped me into the person I have become. It has shown me that if you work hard enough you will get where you need to go. It has shown me that powder days and face shots are where I find my peace. But it has also shown me how big the world actually is. It's almost as if we have a glass bubble over the Vail Valley. We have astounding doctors with advanced technology right here. So with all of these resources surrounding us it's hard to see a world away from it. It's hard to picture a place where water and food resources are lacking and where people die because they don't have the resources and educational technology to keep them alive. It's hard to picture because I have a filled pantry and fridge and yearly scheduled doctor checkups. It makes me sad that my world consists of me taking advantage of things that many other people around the world don’t have access to.

I have grown up in a place of innocence, a place where we are disconnected to everything harmful. I have grown up in a place where crime is very minimal and where parents are unafraid to let their children play until dark. I have learned that education and homework comes before play unless its a powder day.

Growing up my immediate family has never been very religious at all, we go to church for holidays such as Easter and Christmas but that's about it. On my Grandparents’ side, though, they are very religious. Every summer when I'm with them, we go to church every Sunday and they have always been that way. My Nanny is a stage actress so I have grown up in that kind of world and have seen way to many plays to count and seen very many backstages. With this being said, as much time as I spent in this world and reading lines with her the theater and drama world has not rubbed off on me. In fact I am terrified to talk in front of crowds.

My whole life I have been an avid reader; anything from Nancy Drew and The Magic Tree House to The Alchemist. I think reading has made me who I am today. Books and writing give me an escape to the fictional world and something about that world makes me crave more of it. These books that I have read and continue to read give me a sense of adventure and creativity that's hard to find anywhere else.

I have grown to learn and respect the value of other people's time and that being late is very very rarely optional. Being in ski racing, a sport where you have to be punctual and have a schedule, I have grown up with the thought of being early is on time and being on time is late. Being late, your trust is lost and you miss important moments and opportunities. It makes you look unprepared and unorganized.

Along with respecting other people’s time, my parents have taught me how to respect myself. How to present myself in a way that gives people a respectable and good impression of me along with everyone I am associated with.

Everything that surrounds me has made me who I am and has left an impact on me whether that is negative or positive. My parents have taught me how to make goals and enjoy life, my siblings have taught me how to have fun and that it’s okay to make mistakes, my Nanny and Papa have taught me how important it is to stay in contact with the people I love the most and how confidence lights up a room.