In 2016–2017, I spent 4 months living and working in Japan. The majority of my time was spent in Niseko, a resort town on the island of Hokkaido. In that time, I skied some of the best snow of my life, made some lifelong friends, and ate some pretty incredible Japanese food.
I worked at a small local bar called Bar Barunba. It is a tiny little bar tucked away in what used to be an old parking garage. You have to duck to get into the doorway, and the place can fit 30 to 40 people max. My job at the bar mostly consisted of making ice cubes by hand with an ice pick. That's right, we made ice cubes for every drink by hand. You would start with a solid 2-foot by 2-foot block of ice and half it until you got the desired size for the glass. Sometimes I would even make special circular cubes for scotch or other fancy drinks on the rocks.
I lived and worked at the bar. I slept in a tiny room in an area behind a curtain at the end of the bar. The door was made of plywood which opened up to my room. It was 5 feet wide and 8 feet long. I had to sit on the bed with my head cocked to the side being 6 feet tall. It was more than enough for me as my main goal was to ski as much snow as possible that season.
This photo was taken on one of my best days that year. After heading home from an incredible day on the hill, I saw a group of motorcyclists. They were having the time of their lives, laughing and ripping around the parking lot. There were no helmets on, they were bare-faced and smoking cigarettes. They were telling jokes, doing burnouts, and genuinely living in the moment. This will always serve as a reminder of how to live my own life.
At the end of the day, life is short. As far as we know, we only get one shot at living it. Find things you love and pursue them wholeheartedly. Don't worry about fitting in or being accepted. Worry about being truly happy. Find out what it is that ignites a fire inside your heart. Live a life where, when you are on your deathbed, you can say you lived life to the fullest with no regrets. Stop giving so many fucks and go out there and live.
