LOCALadk Magazine

17 Winter 2016 LOCALadk Magazine Being born was the best thing that has ever happened to me. But being born here in the Adirondacks? Well now that's a whole 'no- ther 900 words! Growing up in the Adiron- dacks is incredible. I absolutely love it here. For one, the people are nice and the commu- nity is healthy and good for anybody looking to improve themselves. Most importantly is the fact that the Adirondacks opens doors to people, and for some people that can take you anywhere (unless of course you want to be a surfer). The other great thing is no matter what you do (even surf) people will do everything in their power to support you and make it happen. Everybody from teach- ers and coaches to the guy who works down- town will know what's going on and wish you good luck our just a good day. The positive influence of the Adirondacks is impeccable and I appreciate it. All this is a blessing and it means a lot to me. It means people care and that this is a wonderful place to live. This past winter was one of the best yet, though it did not snow. And it had a reputa- tion of being the winter that wasn't. For me it was the winter that definitely, complete- ly, totally, absolutely, was. I was given the opportunity to go to Austria to compete in the International Winter Children's Games. This was thanks to the wonderful and sup- portive people at the Uihlein Foundation in Lake Placid. The Foundation gave a gener- ous grant to send 18 kids to Austria, and I was one of the lucky 6 members of the cross country ski team. We left on a Saturday morning and headed for Montreal. We put all our stuff on a cou- ple of large baggage carts, checked in and hopped on a plane to Zurich, Switzerland. After a long bus ride to Innsbruck, we finally got there but were extremely jet lagged. We were given name tags that said where we were from, who we were, our specific Up & Comer: Adrian Hayden

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