Growing pains
     It was a warm summer night In Utah Valley just like any other night. Joe and his friends were making a summer set up for skiing and snowboarding. This (set up) consisted of astro turf water and soap and a rail or tube to grind and a drop in. The nights were pretty much the only time you would find Joe and his friends skiing. He worked by day, it was just too hot during those long summer days. Other than skiing and work Joe also liked to do fun things with his friends. Joe liked hiking or just watching a movie, he enjoyed doing things with friends.

Joe thought his life was going great, he was having a good time working for the city and skiing with friends. Then his parents got divorced ,he was going to have to move away from his school.  It wouldn't be too far although it would still be about a 20 minute commute when it used it be about five minutes. The thing that would change would be skiing.  There would no more of it because the new house had too small of a backyard. So he couldn't ski anymore during the summer, that didn't bother him too much because he still had his friends. He went to the same school so he considered himself quite lucky. Although school was starting soon he didn't feel ready for it. He liked to go to bed late and wake up late too.  His whole sleeping schedule would be changing.  It did every year but just like always he wasn't ready for it plus this year was different than the rest.  He was a senior this year so it was his last year as a kid. He wanted to make his last summer the best one. So he and his friends planned a trip before school started they would travel somewhere they had never been before, they had been planning it for quite sometime now.  They were heading up to whistler mountain in Canada where they had a camp called the Camp of Champs. This was a freestyle ski and snowboard camp it was made for people to progress their tricks and learn new tricks. To help achieve this goal they had a jump line with a huge air bag for a landing so you could try your new trick without fear of hitting the hard snow.  The idea is to make you feel more confident when you're trying new things.

Just like it had been planned they got all their gear and headed to Canada for a really fun time.  Away from parents and any other distractions back home it was just them and the mountain. When they arrived at Whistler they were greeted by the other kids at the camp, and then they were shown  their new home. They were really excited to be at the camp and were ready to get better at skiing.  There was fun things to do where they lived too, trampolines, indoor skate park, a wood jump into a foam pit. All sorts of things to play around on. Joe and his friends played on the mini ramp and other features they had set up for the night. Then they went to bed. They woke up the next day and hurried to a bus that took them up to the glacier. There they found that it was full of fun jumps, rails, and air bags.  The park was huge, it was summer but the snow was really still great. They couldn't believe it ! How had they not known about this sooner.  Needless to say they were in ski heaven. It was fifty degrees, a bluebird day and the park was freshly groomed ready to be skied.  Let the fun begin Joe thought.  The days passed too quickly.  Lots of fun was had doing the same thing over and over but is never got old to Joe and his friends. The summer was going to be over fast it was time to go back to school, they still had one more week.  It didn’t seem possible that they had been their for about a month and a half. They had so much fun so they planned to come back the next year. The week passed by fast it was time to head back to Utah, to the little town of Springville.
When they got back they had only one more week until school started so they tried to build a summer Jib set. They built a drop in and a ramp.  In the end they already had some tubes and rails from the winter so it was an easier set up to make. They played around on their set up at night again until school started. They were just waiting for the opening day of Park City but until then their would be no skiing. They did their school work but were a little bored so they did some summer activities before it got too cold for summer sports like water skiing and swimming.                         
They were ready for fall to hit, they were pretty excited that it was getting colder and the season was going to start.  To kick off the season right Joe bought some new skis (the line future spins) he got them mounted and was now ready to start skiing. He would have to wait until the first resort opened or if it snowed in the valley he could still have fun because his backyard set up for skiing was still there ready to go. Sadly it never snowed in the valley but a month later in November Park City started their lifts and were ready to kick off the season.  Joe and his buddies couldn’t be happier. They went to the opening day, had a lot of fun on the jumps and jib features they had setup. They were enjoying the day until for some reason the boxes and rails were closed early but that didn't stop one of Joe's friends he grabbed the pole with his hands and grinded the box.  Little did he know that up above where he was a worker for the resort saw him do what he did and wasn't very happy about it.  Joe’s friend had his skis unclipped so when the worker said stop, he booked it down the hill.  It was the last run anyway so it didn’t matter that he was in trouble, he went down to his car and took his ski gear off and then went home with no consequence for what he did. He was happy he got away with it because if he didn't his season pass would be taken and he would be sad for a while until they unrevoked his pass.  He was glad he didn’t get caught but just to be sure he wore a different color of pants when he went the next time so he wouldn't be quite as recognisable because the resort takes those things really seriously and sometimes they check the cameras and look you up in their computer so you can never be too careful.     
Later on in the season a pretty big problem happened he got fired from his job for missing work only one shift,  he was kinda surprised he got laid off. He didn't really care other than the fact that he had no gas money so he couldn't go skiing as much or so he thought but then he began hitching rides with friends and giving them a little bit in gas money. He did this until the season was over, he had a lot of fun times he got a lot better at  skiing now he was ready to get a summer job. He applied a lot of places but with no success. Then after all hope was lost he was finally called back on a job he interviewed for and he eventually got the job. He worked for the city as a summer worker, he mowed the lawns and did the city’s yard work.  He mowed, edged and pretty much whatever his boss told him.  He worked Monday through Friday eight to four.  He he liked the job so he worked there all summer making some money for the season to come.  He also had a lot of fun with friends that summer he went mountain biking, boating and some motor biking as well.  He liked these times and wasn't looking forward to the end because he would be out of work but he was ready for winter his favorite season. 
He also wasn't looking forward to school, his last year of High school.  It was sure to be hard he needed to do well because he was going to try to get a scholarship. He decided he was going to try really hard to get good grades and not goof off with his friends as much so he could make the most of things while he was still in high school. At the same time he didn’t want to grow up, either way he is going to have to. He doesn't know where he’s going, he doesn't know what he wants to be. What will he become? Everyone wants him to decide all ready but how could he know? Will he know for sure what he wants to do for the rest of his life? How will he make a living? That’s a really big choice, he thinks High school kids are pressured into a little too soon.
For now he stays undecided, not giving people what they want because he doesn't have a solid answer he just replies, “ I’ve  got until the end of the year”.  He doesn't  even know if he will be sure after he graduates. For now he’s just in the middle, undecided and he’s struggling to find out what he wants to do.  He loves skiing but you can't be a pro ski bum sadly but maybe he will do that for a while. His parents want him to go to college right out of high school and leave being a kid behind forever but how could he do that he doesn't feel any older than in the past. He still feels and sometimes acts like a kid but soon he will be forced to start working and he might not be able to ski very much at all. He’s going to move out, rent an apartment with friends and have some fun doing his thing. Still the fun years are almost over he’s a senior next year.  He is going to be considered and adult and he’s going to be forced into their world no more skiing every weekend doing whatever you want in the summer is gone. Just like most adults he’s going to be trying to make money every chance he gets and surviving but he’s going to try to make a better life for himself through college.  Right now he knows he's going to college but he has no clue what his major is going to be there.  He doesn't know what he wants to be he's only seventeen and he has to decide what he wants to be for the rest of his life in just one year. Hows he going to do it? Maybe he won't he's going to be different than his parents want him to be. He’s going to chase his dreams and do what he likes most he’s going to be a kid once again for just a while. He’s just going to work part time and go skiing for a couple of years by that time his parents will be bugging him to go to school and eventually he will have to do that but he want to have his fun and then settle down for a while and get his life and order just like most adults. Work a nine to five job and maybe go skiing on some weekends but not do anything to extreme because you don't want to get hurt.  Just be out there taking it easy unlike the old days when he was always pushing his limits and trying new things he sees his future and some parts he likes and some parts he doesn't.  That’s one of the things he doesn't really like when he thinks about it. He's scared partly because he doesn't know what he's going to be and partly because he doesn't think he will like the average life.  He want to do fun things and play a little but he knows what he needs to do to survive.  He plans to just do what he wants for a year and then settle down and do what his parents want and try to be successful in life and make a little money. He will never forget his high school years and the year after that but for now he's still living the dream the he's still in high school and he's having a lot of fun so he’s going to put his future aside for a while and enjoy these years. He will take it day by day and it will go by fast before he knows it high school will be over and he will be an adult.  He will get a job and notice that his parent were right.  He will go to college and get a better job. But for now he will just get another part time job and work in the summer and ski as much as he can for his senior year.  We will see what the future has in store for Joe he has his whole life ahead of him.