Hi everyone!
I am currently writing from my little apartment room in Soraga, Italy in the dolomites which is where my home base has been this winter. I arrived here last night with all eleven of my bags pretty exhausted after a long, yet seamless, travel day.
I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone for the insane amount of support, well wishes and kind messages I have received, especially the last couple of days. I spoke with my mom this morning and she told me that she is also receiving a lot of love which makes me very happy, because its a good indication that people realize that I did not get here alone!
In fact, one of the things I am most proud of this year, is just how amazing #teamtricia truly is. Tackling this year from ground zero last April felt extremely overwhelming and somewhat impossible, but with the help of my family constantly supporting me and telling me “if I really want to make it possible, I can” I slowly started to figure things out one step at a time.
One of the biggest obstacles was finding a way to fund my season. Being a naturally independent person, I struggle to ask for help with small favors, so asking people to give me money to ski race felt extremely uncomfortable and a little frivolous. But, again with the help and wisdom of a lot of people, I came up with a plan to fundraise that I felt comfortable with. I worked hard over the summer and fall to contribute as much of my own time and money as I possibly could and then reached out for help at the end of the fall before the ski season officially started.
The amount of support I received financially put me very close to my budget goal which relieved me of a lot of stress, but it was the emotional support that really affected me far more than I ever anticipated.
Asking for help showed me just how many people believed in me and wanted to help me succeed. And writing these blogs over the past couple months has allowed me to share the journey in a way that feels authentic and real. This has not only forced me to keep things in perspective by sharing my ‘world’ with everyone else, but it has made every up, down and in between much more enjoyable, and every experience has truly felt like a life lesson.
I really hope you all know how instrumental you have been in helping me to continue to keep working hard to reach my ski racing goals. I still feel like there is a lot left to accomplish, but most importantly I’m as excited as ever for the ride!
Thank you so much to everyone for following, cheering, and supporting. I’m very excited for the end of the season races and all that’s to come in the next couple weeks.
PS. One more Olympic recap blog and lots of photos to come but I wanted to send this one first :)
Thank you Tricia. And fear not, you have made about 1,000 amazing turns literally and figuratively for each of us out here cheering you on. Your quest inspires us to go after our own quests! I don’t envy unpacking those 11 bags, but sure do envy a “little apartment in the Dolomites”. Welcome home Victor!
Congratulations! Great job in the combined!