“I don’t like to be uncomfortable, but I like to be uncomfortable,” Rachel Becker said with a smile. “You know?”
Becker, a senior social work student, is currently skiing the Colorado slopes as a winter intern with Adaptive Sports at Mt. Crested Butte, a center for outdoor activities for people with disabilities.
Becker teaches one-on-one skiing lessons to individuals with disabilities, typically from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day.
Previously, I have known Becker to rock climb in Memphis, explore the Union trails, run a mini marathon and hike many 14ers in Colorado.
“Rachel is good at doing hard things,” said Lili Pettigrew, her roommate of two years and friend from high school. “She always learns so much, and she is always thriving in the tough.”
Becker also served as a resident advisor (RA) during her sophomore and junior years, as a Life Group leader during the fall semester of her senior year and as an outdoor leader at a hiking camp in Colorado each summer. Colorado is used to her.
None of these positions are high-paying, though. Becker does them because she loves making friends that she wouldn’t otherwise get to know.
“I get to hear their story and find shared stories,” Becker said. “Like, who knew two people could have the same experience?”
I still remember the first text I received from Becker when I was about to move into Union. I was feeling preemptively homesick to pack up and move myself into a dorm room 6 hours away. Becker excitedly texted on GroupMe something like, “Hi!! I am Rachel Becker, and I will be your RA this year. I am so excited to get to know you!!!”
Simple. It seemed genuine. So many exclamation marks.
“It is easy to spill your guts to her; she loves crazy stories,” Pettigrew said. “She can give good advice and is also really good at seeing through crazy situations.”
It was a simple text, but she meant it. Her way of life shows her listening ears and adventurous spirit.
Throughout freshman year, Becker took me running with her in the woods a few mornings each week (until I rolled my ankle), left her dorm room open for us to crash at, always listened to me and my roommates’ fun stories, asked about the books we were reading, took us to the lake thirty minutes off campus and went on countless other adventures with us. Would we have otherwise been friends? Likely not.
But it’s amazing how simple life can be.
And it’s amazing how simple life can be on the slopes, too. Her skiers will sometimes get so excited about skiing straight down a slope. No stopping. No crashing.
Sometimes, we forget childlike wonder. We could be busy with form and the goals of perfect skiing. But it’s never childish to be filled with a joyful wonder at the little things, even if it’s childlike.
“I love experiencing the joy in how simple life is,” Becker said. “Teaching individuals with disabilities is such a different ball game. The ski lesson is never drills. It has to be about getting to know the individual and them knowing movement and fine motor control — moving their heels out with the skis can be the hardest to learn.”
Some Adaptive Sports skiers ski double black diamond slopes. Better than I can ski! And I love skiing. But some Adaptive skiers can only ski the green “easiest way down” slopes. Some skiers don’t want to ski more than that.
“It’s not about good skiing but getting to have fun and push past [previous] limits,” Becker said.
Joy in the little things with others may not seem like the accomplishment of each day. But what if it is?
Pettigrew remembers when her friendship suddenly became deep with Becker. The two of them were sitting on Pettigrew’s driveway eating ice cream, and magic happened. They started sharing stories and opening up their lives to each other, laughing over wild adventures like they never had before.
“That’s the most Rachel thing ever!” Pettigrew laughed. “Sitting on a driveway eating ice cream.”
It’s also the most Becker thing ever to move from her comfortable, established community found at Union and at her local church in Jackson (which admittedly is a high bar for community) and ski in Colorado for three months — taking an hour away to get to the church she knows in those mountains. But Becker likes a challenge. And Becker likes the outdoors.
“Discomfort is growth,” Becker said.
Becker believes in friendship because she knows, sooner or later, there are stories we all want to share and laugh over. And maybe along the way, a crisis will be averted, and souls will be helped. Maybe along the way, growth will come from discomfort, and the purpose for her work will be discovered. For there is great purpose in faithfulness. Maybe along the way, we can be shining as lights in dark places we didn’t even know, like Rachel Becker.
