Wallace Design Collective

The definition of a New Year’s resolution is a promise to do an act of self-improvement starting on New Year’s Day. Reflecting back on 2013, I realized I didn’t make any resolutions, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any self-improvement going on.

This past year was filled with many milestones and great things. I found out my little sister is expecting her first kiddo, became President of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, attended four weddings – three of which my husband or I were in, rekindled my love liking for skiing and said so long to my 20s. Oh and did I mention the JT concert at the BOK Center? It was fabulous! From these events I was reminded that we are constantly growing and learning, we need to step out of our comfort zone, it’s okay to get older and rewards are essential – all things that have improved my life one way or another.

One of the biggest accomplishments on the ‘self-improvement’ list was getting out of my comfort zone. I usually stick to the safe route but there are times when I had to either sink or swim, or in this case, ski.

I’ve always mostly enjoyed snow skiing. I say mostly because there was that ‘green’ at Keystone that nearly made me abandon the sport altogether. You see I tend to stick to the easiest of greens since I haven’t quite mastered the fine art of stopping. I also love the snow, fresh cold air and all things Colorado.

Earlier in the year a group of family and friends spent several days in Winter Park, Colorado. Since one of my friends had never skied before I stayed with him and we stuck to the bunny slopes the first day. It was just the right pace. We were able to take our time as well as the long way down the mountain. For those who haven’t skied before, the ‘long way down’ is the flattest and widest route to the bottom. Perfect for kids under the age of ten and two kids in their 20s.

For the first part of the second day we fell back into our routine. Then when we met up with the group at lunch our plans changed. My husband said he could get us to the top, but we’d have to take some tougher greens down. After we ate, we hesitantly agreed and made our way towards the lifts. After weaving our way across the mountain we found ourselves on the Olympia Express, next stop: the top of Winter Park Mountain. After an eight-minute ride we were at the top. We did it. We got away from the bunny slopes and took the big scary lift all the way up. The views alone were worth it. It was a bright sunny day with the beautiful blue sky painted with clouds that contrasted against the white crisp snow and towering evergreens. Absolute beauty. I took a few obligatory pictures, put the phone away and then soaked it all up. This was my kind of place. After taking in all the glory, we enjoyed a brew at the Sunspot and then made our way down. It was a little tough, but totally worth it.

Had I not ventured out of my comfort zone, I wouldn’t have experienced – first hand – one of the most beautiful sights on earth and gained confidence in myself as skier. We plan to go back to Winter Park in a few months and I look forward to those views atop the mountain again. So my advice is do something that seems a little scary, a little out of the norm. You never know what you’ll discover.

Allison Taylor is a marketing coordinator at Wallace Engineering, a structural and civil engineering consulting firm.  She can be contacted at info@wallacesc.com.  Follow us on Twitter (@WallaceEng) for blog updates.