Olympic Dreams: I met Seth Wescott!

It's surreal when your dreams become a reality. I've had an actual dream where I've snowboard down a boarder cross course for the first time. Then my dreams came true and I met an Olympian, Seth Wescott (two time gold medalist in boarder cross [SBX])! I still can't believe I've met an Olympian.

Through Twitter, I found out that Seth Wescott was having SBX clinics at Brighton for his Ride With Me SBX Tour. When I found out, I was jumping up and down. I sacrificed everything just to meet him and it was well worth it. There was no stopping me. This was a once in a life time opportunity and I was going to meet it. I was going to live my dreams.

Seth shared his views on snowboarding and his passion of surfing. He really likes surfing. I was surprised to hear that boarder cross wasn't his first choice of snowboarding. His hero is Kelly Slater.

I noticed he was wearing the legendary blue jean Burton snow pants that Team USA wore in Vancouver. As a lover of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I couldn't help but think that the pants I saw were magical. I want those pants. Not his pants specifically (in case you thought I was taking this in the wrong direction), but those Burton snowboard pants to snowboard in.

The boarder cross course was a lot smaller than I had imagined. It was nothing like the course at Cypress Mountain, but it was still lots of fun going down it and pretending I was an Olympian.

After the SBX clinic, Seth was doing autographs and photos. He was incredibly nice and chill. I was surprised at how many questions he asked about me. He asked me my name and if I was from the area. Then he asked me how my lessons went with Bob and Lindsay. I said how they went well and how I had wished I had been able to watch him snowboard, but I couldn't keep up. He looked up at me, told me and gave me a reassuring look that it was ok. He asked how long I had been snowboarding for. I told him for a few years, but I never got into it until recently. Then I told him how I couldn't believe how I saw him on TV and now I was seeing him there. He just kind of laughed. Then I asked him if he was going to Russia. He said yes and how four years seems like a long time from now, but it will be sooner than he knows it, like the Vancouver Olympics. I took a picture with him and he had his arm around me. I'll never forget that feeling. I couldn't believe that in one day, I had met an Olympian and he had his arm around me.

I had one of the most incredible days at Brighton and I had so much fun that I didn't want to leave. Driving down the canyon, I thought to myself how that day was a fairytale. The mountains are my home and where I've met some of the most amazing people. All of us share our love for snow, the mountains and a sport.

Seth told us all that the most important thing is to have fun on the mountains. He's reminded me that snowboarding is a lifestyle and to love what you're doing. My dream is to be an Olympian or at least compete in snowboarding competitions. Even if my dream never comes true, I'll never stop snowboarding because of my love for snowboarding.