This summer I embarked on my first real skate trip. I’ve been on a few trips before, but they mostly consisted of drinking all day and night with a bit of skating at parks in between. This trip was a totally different experience. A car of four male skaters from Ottawa and myself packed up and and headed to Syracuse and Albany, New York for the weekend.

We spent our time driving up and down the streets, looking for cool spots to skate. If someone saw something they wanted to skate, everyone found a way to have fun at that spot! We got a ton of great photos and made the absolute most of what little time we had there.

This trip was very eye-opening for me. I have been skating for six years, almost all of which took place at skateparks. During this trip I learned that street skating is a lot harder than park skating, and also requires a ton more patience. There were a couple of tricks I got on this trip that literally took me hours to land, but the guys never complained once. That was super cool, and something that I wasn’t entirely used to. I learned to say “thank you” to the person filming, instead of “sorry” every time I didn’t land it.

In the past I rarely invited myself out to street sessions because I was somewhat intimidated. I felt like I may be imposing on some life-long skate friendships. I am so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone. This trip pushed me to the best of my abilities. I love skating with people who are more skilled or experienced than me because it gives me inspiration to try things that I may not have otherwise tried. I love skating with my girls and I love skating parks, but I never want to limit myself to only skating with girls or only skating parks.

There is a whole other amazing side to the world of skateboarding. I’m so thankful for all the incredible relationships I’ve made just by stepping out of the skatepark every once in a while. I hope this inspires some girls to not be shy and to get out into the streets with people who are intimidating or better at skating. I promise it will only push you to learn and grow so much more as a skateboarder.