I have never been the best writer, always having to submit work three and four times to get a passing grade; this paper will probably be no different. Growing up I’ve never been one to talk about my memories either, let alone write about one.  Ideas dry up  in my head like old wells, fearing judgement on everything that I’ve ever done.  Even if the worst thing was taking a Davy Jones pen from a supermarket without paying when i was little, but If I were to share a couple I guess my story would start in colorful Colorado.

All I can remember is really is a vivid image of my mom throwing clothes down the stairs at my dad, after that everything gets kind of fuzzy.  My parents got divorced when I was little so it was kind of the start to my tour of Colorado, we started a trend of moving every couple of years, each time having a new motive as to why.  I don’t remember all of the details as to how long it was before both of my parents remarried but I can tell you I wasn’t a happy camper.  They moved me all the way from my home in Littleton to the  city of Thornton.  I guess I can’t complain about it though because it lead to where I am now. That house is where I learned hockey would turn into my everything.
 

Right after we moved my stepdad took me to my first hockey game, The images are still plastered in my mind like i went yesterday. The scoreboard read in bright colors “ Colorado Avalanche versus Arizona Coyotes.” The crunching sounds of the boards after every hit  with the crisp sound of the skates scraping across the ice, smell of the popcorn, the buzz of the arena when the Avalanche scored, and just atmosphere, it all made it feel like I belonged there.  My idea of fun from that point  was to pretend to be my dads favorite team the San Jose Sharks as I would lay a beat down on my stepdads team  favorite team the Philadelphia Flyers playing with a hockey stick made of a couple rulers taped together and a crumpled up ball for a puck not even knowing what hockey really was yet, let alone how to play.  To be completely honestly I probably played better hockey then than I do now, but was hockey everything from then on out, NHL games on the Xbox, to drawing little goalies on pieces of paper of every team, eventually I even took a liking to the Flyers.  

Flash forward to christmas in our new house house in Commerce city, I got a Flyers Jersey custom made just for me, it had my last name on it and my hero Chris Pronger’s number 25! I lived in that thing, from dusk till dawn I sported my new team. I  always thought I was going to grow up to play for them as a defenseman just like Pronger.
 

That changed real quick for my seventh Birthday my parents got me a pair of goalie pads,  I was pissed yelling, “ I’m not a goalie, Being a goalie is boring!” That didn't last very long either, it was about a week before i was drawn to goalie equipment just as a bee was to honey....Up until i was maybe thirteen i thought the pads were better looking than most girls were. Everything about being a goalie exited me, a puck was a challenge and i was ready to stop everything… But I sucked for the longest time, a bag of pucks could have stopped more than me. Pucks used to tickle twine more on me than most squirt level kids, a kid even asked me what my goal was being a goalie and I told him “ my goal is to deny yours”.... All he said was “Kid you better get a new goal because you suck.” That comment drove me to get better.

It wasn't until middle school when i actually started to hear the “twack” of the puck hitting my gear and actually meaning to stop it and not making an “accidental save.” My eighth grade year it got to the point where I was selected to play for team Colorado. Granite we lost every game that tournament always listening to our coach as he yelled “Ive seen better hockey from my niece and she is five! Now can we go out there and act like we are here to play some goddamn hockey?!”

By my junior year In high school I was a champion playing for the Jaguars, playing for a total or seven or eight teams after every move. Columbine High school being the latest bringing me to where I am today. Taking it one game at a time with the same goal ...To deny yours.