Jeremy wakes up tired and cold: his teeth chattering, his goosebump-covered body shivering.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrenched the covers back up over his head and tried to go back to sleep. Just as he was starting to drift off he heard Mum yelling at him to get ready and that’s when it hit him, he's going skiing today. Jeremy doesn't want to learn to ski. He thinks he wouldn’t know where to put his legs. He envisions them crossing over and him faceplanting into the snow. So he yells out ‘no’ and clicks the lock on his door, walks to his bed and crashes down on the duvet.

Oh how he hated that drive, all the time his parents were prattling about the views while Jeremy shivered in his seat trying to fathom how anyone who wants to look at views wouldn't just go sightseeing or something. He hated the way the snow glared into his eyes. After a laborious time renting the hire skis for the day Jeremy clicks into them. He wondered why anyone would want to go flying down a mountain uncontrollably while thinking about how much pain he would be in if he crashed into the ice. He might even end up in the hospital. After a few embarrassing mis-starts he actually makes it up the magic carpet.

But as he attempts to step off it he forgets that his feet are seven times longer than usual and bangs the tips into the operator. The operator clasps his shins and jumps back hopping on one foot exclaiming ‘be careful there mate’. Jeremy mutters ‘sorry’ under his breath and waddles off to the top of the learner’s slope.He had refused his mother’s attempts to force him into lessons but now he was starting to regret that. He had no idea what to do so just leant forward. He thought he would figure it out on the way down. He immediately crosses over his skis and falls on his face.

As he slides down the slope face first, snow begins to make its way down his neck and into his jacket. As he feels the snow dripping down his front he starts to deteriorate. He screams ‘how does anyone like this? It’s impossible, my skis crossed on their own - i never made them do that’ As he finishes yelling he sees a little kids’ lesson skiing past him - all of them skiing like a snake weaving down the mountain. He feels extreme rage burn up inside him at being so incompetent at a thing that looks so easy.

That’s when he decides that yelling isn't going to make him any better at it so, after lots more falling and a little crying he makes his way to the bottom of the learner’s slope. He looks out over the drop off beside him and the mountains close and then far. He thinks about how the landscape has so many different layers of nature and as he looks further and further he sees more folding open like a book. The distant mountains look like the curves on a freshly washed sheet. His mouth twitched upwards as he had this amazing feeling and then he worked out that it was gratefulness for the place he lived in.

As they drive down the mountain his parents ask ‘how was skiing?’. He takes a minute to reflect on the day and realises that it was actually a place he loved being, even if it had been really hard work. ‘It was tons of fun, let's do it again some time’. His parents then query what his favourite part of the day was. He replies ‘that moment when I realised how amazing Wanaka really is’. He thinks about how his body is feeling. His legs are exhausted and he thinks, if he had to, he could barely stand. He looks out the window and stares at the astonishing sight, they are above the clouds, surrounded by snow and rocky tussock.

He feels like he is on top of the world. Then he realises that he hasn't actually gotten out of his gear yet and takes off his boots. And oh-my-god - that feeling is the best feeling in the world.