By Alison Gourley

Alison is a Grade 9 student at Canmore Collegiate High School & Canmore Nordic Ski Club skier. Her Humanities Teacher, Mrs Laura Hunt, assigned the students to think of a metaphor that they believed could represent their life. Students then had to draw connections between the metaphor and various aspects of their life.

My Life is a Cross Country Ski

The bindings are my family
who hold me right in place.
They help me when I’m feeling down
and cheer me when I race.

The grip wax is my caring friends
who help me when I trip.
I know they’ll always be there for me
even if I slip.

The stiffness is the challenges
which force me to press hard.
They make me use some good techniques
to move another yard.

The glide wax is my passion,
which helps me move along,
for I know where I want to go
and that keeps me going strong.

The trail behind me I have done
is all of my achievements.
It shows the places I have won
and all my proud developments.

The fresh tracks up ahead of me
are my hopes and dreams.
They are what I have yet to do
There’s so much more, it seems.