Downhill From Here (#1)

1. What In The Actual Fu--

Setting: Aspen, Colorado
The Black Mountain Resort

Bowie's POV

October 13th

12:08 pm

Whoever was the first person to say "you can do anything you set your mind to" deserves to be slapped and punished. Because turns out...I can't.

That person must've been white.

The part they left out was the fact that you need money and privilege to achieve most dreams.

How is it that I'm 24 and still working at the same job I worked when I was 16? My life suddenly felt like it was going nowhere.

Now don't get me wrong, I actually love my job. Working at The Black Mountain Resort had its perks.

Think of the boggiest resort with all of the amenities at your disposal. Spa, pool, skiing, a massive gym, and snowboarding/skiing all day long. With a huge hotel attached and a hotspot for famous people and professional athletes, this place was amazing.

But I've always wanted more than just this. I wanted to be one of those famous athletes staying in the presidential suites and getting my face plastered on the side of a Wheaties cereal box. I wanted to be making history. I'd been snowboarding since I could walk.

Instead, I was making sure customers got the right snow sports gear at the sporting goods section of the resort. I knew everything one needed to know about the right gear and what to do on the mountain.

And I worked as a snowboarding instructor for little kids which was fun sometimes.

I snowboarded almost every single day. I knew most of the staff here and because we got employee discounts, I always went riding after work.

And it's not like I hadn't done anything with my life. I went to college after high school, got my degree in child psychology, and even went for my master's. I would've finished my master's if my life hadn't taken such a life-altering turn.

One minute I was a full-time student and the next I was in a hospital bed wondering if I'd see my 24th birthday.

And even after I'd gotten past that dark point in my life, I was determined to live life to the fullest. Follow my dreams.

But that's near impossible when you have major hospital debt and student loans to pay off.

And who would want to coach or sponsor me? I was just little ol' Bowie Parker who hadn't ever competed and didn't have money to throw into competitive snowboarding.

Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't living paycheck to paycheck, thank God. I was just in copious amounts of debt.

And I was black.

Snowboarding didn't discriminate but the people did. And growing up in an all-white town with a bunch of privileged rich kids who had better access to things than I did, it was hard out here.

And no one wants to sign some old black girl into a sport that isn't normally diverse. I know I'm not actually "old" but in 'snowboarding years' I'm 2 years past the age where I would be at peak body performance to compete.

But I shouldn't complain. I had family and friends, and I was alive. There wasn't much more I needed.

Plus I had been promoted to manager a few months ago, so the pay raise was nice.

I flipped through the sports magazine on the front desk, distracted by a news article. It was similar to the news reports I'd seen in the past 2 weeks.

Are the rumors true? Is Olympic Star Nathan Greeves retiring?