My Hygge

December, in my opinion, is the best of the winter months. It comes with many things like Holidays, time off of school, and especially the ski season. During winter break, I spend countless hours almost every day of the week at the Dartmouth Skiway. I have probably sat on the chair lifts for days in total. It is impossible to get bored of riding up and down the chairlift for countless hours, then zipping down the mountain next to my dad or my friends.

While the skiing part of being at the Skiway is fun, I think the key component that makes it my hygge is the conversations that I have. The chairlifts take forever to go up, so it gives my friends and me plenty of time to indulge in a conversation. There is so much to talk about like what we plan on doing in the future, talking about our classes, our teachers and friends, and which NFL team is going to win the Superbowl. There is so much to say about everything. When the lift reaches the top of the mountain, sometimes I would rather just stay on until it makes it to the top again so we can keep the conversation going. 

The chairlifts aren't the only thing that makes a good place for conversations. Something about the warm environment of the ski lodge, and it usually being empty, paired with the thirty dollars we just spent for a burger and fries makes me want to stay in that place forever. Whenever I go skiing, I feel like there is nothing that I would rather do. Everything that was on my mind disappears.

The experience of skiing just makes me feel free. I reflect on all my emotions like happiness, joy, and excitement. I am happy that I get to spend time with friends and family which I know will not be something that I will be able to do forever. I am joyful to be experiencing nature instead of spending my winter day cooped up inside staring at my phone, mindlessly scrolling on social media, and finally, I am excited. I am excited to have the thrill of going down the mountain as fast as I can, spraying snow on my friends and getting it sprayed back at me, sending myself off of jumps trying to land new tricks, and then crashing into the lightest powder.