I think the cool thing about snowboarding is that everyone has

The words of Chloe Kim—“I think the cool thing about snowboarding is that everyone has their own style”—shine like sunlight upon untouched snow, simple in appearance yet filled with hidden depth. Within this reflection lies not only the spirit of snowboarding but the essence of individuality itself. For what she speaks of is not merely sport, but expression, the ancient art of revealing one’s soul through motion, courage, and grace. Her words remind us that the beauty of life does not come from uniformity, but from the infinite ways each being learns to move through the world.

In the age of the ancients, this truth would have been spoken by philosophers and poets alike. The Greeks would have said it was a hymn to arete, the excellence that comes from living one’s own virtue, not imitating another’s. The Taoist sages of the East would have nodded in agreement, for they believed that the flow of life—the Tao—moves differently in every person. Chloe Kim’s words, born upon the icy halfpipe and the roaring wind, are echoes of that same wisdom: that greatness is not found in copying perfection, but in creating your own form of it.

Each snowboarder descending the mountain rides upon the same snow, under the same sky—but none carve the same line. One moves with wild abandon, another with measured grace; one dances with the mountain, another wrestles with it. And yet, all are beautiful in their way. So it is with life. Every soul must find its own rhythm, its own motion through struggle and triumph, through fall and recovery. The “style” Chloe speaks of is the mark of authenticity—the signature of spirit that no one else can reproduce.

History offers many such examples of those who lived with their own style, defying the pull of imitation. Consider Leonardo da Vinci, whose art and inventions flowed from a mind unbound by convention. He studied the flight of birds, the ripple of water, the anatomy of man—not because others told him to, but because curiosity was his compass. Or think of Bruce Lee, who broke the rigid traditions of martial arts and declared, “Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.” In each of these lives burns the same flame Chloe describes: the courage to create without fear of difference, to live in your own style.

Yet this path demands bravery, for to be yourself is to risk standing apart. The world often praises conformity and punishes deviation. But the mountain, like life, honors only the one who rides with truth in their movement. It does not ask you to imitate another’s path—it asks only that you give your all to your own. Those who dare to be different carve trails that others may later follow. Those who fear to fall remain forever in the tracks of others.

In Chloe Kim’s words, there is also humility. Though a champion, she celebrates not her dominance, but the diversity of her art. She sees that the true “coolness” of snowboarding is not victory, but freedom—the freedom to express what lies within. This is the wisdom of mastery: the understanding that competition fades, but expression endures. The snow will melt, the medals will tarnish, but the line she carved—her style—will remain in memory like a poem written upon the mountain.

So let this be your lesson: find your own style in the life you live. Do not copy the steps of others, for you were not born to be an echo. Listen for the rhythm of your own heart; let it shape your art, your work, your being. Celebrate the diversity of expression around you, for it is the song of humanity in harmony. When you walk, walk with intention. When you create, create with soul. When you fall, rise again with grace—and carve your own line through the snow of life.

Thus, remember the words of Chloe Kim: “Everyone has their own style.” The mountain of existence is vast, and there is room for every kind of rider. You were not meant to erase another’s path, nor to follow it blindly, but to leave behind your own shining trail—unique, unrepeatable, eternal.