The frosty weather every Michigander loves or hates continuously makes its rounds throughout the state during the months of October to April. Junior Bella Preston takes to the slopes to find a positive outlook during the frigid cold. 

All students at FHC value their free time ever so preciously, and during the winter months, Bella doesn’t mind suiting up in her snow gear to hit the slopes while having the time of her life with the people around her.

“[Snowboarding is] fun,” Bella said.  “You can go to Canonsburg and snowboard, and it’s like all your problems go away. You’re just going down the hill, and it’s perfect to go in the winter. I go during most [of] my free time.” 

With much of her time spent at Cannonsburg, the local ski lodge many students at FHC know and love, she’s found unique friendships that have pushed her out of her comfort zone and only grew her love for snowboarding as she continues.

“When you go on the chairlift, and say you’re going on a quad, there [are] four people,” Bella said, “so you’re alone with these random people, and you talk to them and become friends with them. I’ve made really good friendships with people who go to our school, but also people that I don’t know what school they go to, but I see them at Cannonsburg every year and we meet up. They are my Cannonsburg friends.” 

Many people are no strangers to ski trips during the winter months, and the best part of the experience is the chic fashion displayed by others on the hills. Bella is no stranger to this, putting some thought into her everyday snowboarding look while staying stylish and cozy. 

“I have to wear my black snow pants, and then my snowboarding boots, then I put on three long-sleeve shirts, and then a sweatshirt,” Bella said. “If it’s really cold, I have a coat that I just throw over my sweatshirt.”

Bella credits her love and admiration for the sport to her brother, who originally taught her how to snowboard as she switched from the trusty skis she knew all her life to something new.

“I got into snowboarding because of my brother,” Bella said. “He taught me how to [Snowboard]. When I lived in California, we would go to the mountains, and that’s when I learned how to ski. When we moved here, I was [too] young to go [to] the park alone, and I just got bored of skiing and decided I wanted to try something new, so I switched to snowboarding.” 

When Bella straps on her board, a sense of confidence flourishes through her, and the friendships she’s made along the way have made an everlasting impact on her and sees herself, hopefully, continuing in the future and progressing as a snowboarder herself. 

“Snowboarding, for me, is the best way to test my limits,” Bella said, “and [it’s] my way to escape all other problems.”