I enjoy being outside on the winter trails, being able to travel all over Canada and Europe. Most of all, I enjoy the racing and all the good times in different countries that most 18-year-olds wouldn't experience.

My parents cross-country skied, so I just naturally did it as well. What made me love it, though, was the jackrabbit program. I was in it until I was around 10 or 11, and it was just a blast skiing and having fun with friends.

The thought of skiing faster each year and achieving better results motivate me to push harder. Through skiing faster, you then qualify to go to certain events around the world where you can then experience new and tougher competition that will only make you faster.

I want to continue to ski for the Canadian junior cross-country ski team and graduate on to the senior team. At world juniors I would like to achieve a top 20 result, and later on I want to qualify to race in World Cup.

Make sure you have fun, and have patience; there is quite a big technical aspect to skiing and it will come in time. Even the best skiers work on their technique in training. There is always something to work on.