Stick with me here, because this post relates to SEO...I promise...

I went snowboarding for the first time last year. Despite growing up in Michigan, where I could have driven up to the UP (that's Upper Peninsula to you folks who don't point out your hometown on your hand) to hit the slopes, I had never snowboarded or skied before.

The first time I tried snowboarding, I went whizzing down the bunny hill (called the Daisy Hill to not-so-subtly hint at how girly and not EX-TREME it is) because I didn't know how to stop. And, naturally, I fell. A lot. My boyfriend recommended I stay on the bunny hill because I sucked. After a few runs down, however, I steadily improved to the point where my bf (who, as a more experienced boarder, was growing increasingly impatient at having to wait for his balance-deficient girlfriend to wobble down a short hill) convinced me to go on an intermediate run. Being the foolish, trusting person that I am, I went down the steeper hill. And I fell down most of it. By the end of the run, I was sore, cold, and pissed off because I wasn't ready to go down the hill, even though someone made me think that I was. (Thanks, Jason.)

Now, let's switch over to SEO. I've been working for SEOmoz for a year now, and when I first started it was like strapping into a snowboard for the first time. I had no idea what SEO was and no clue about how to do it. Rand was like the experienced snowboarder--I'd listen to him on the phone executing verbal 180s and ollies, and think, "I'll never be as good as Rand. I'll never be as knowledgeable as him."

Thankfully, Rand is a more patient instructor than my boyfriend. Instead of shoving me down the hill, Rand started me off with basic SEO tasks. I would find potential sites for a linkbuilding campaign for one of our clients, and then I'd email those sites to our more experienced SEOmoz staffer, who'd do the actual linkbuilding. After I got the hang of that, I started doing building links on my own. After that, it was keyword research, then it was generating linkbait ideas, then it was learning site reviews, and the rest snowballed from there.

He also eased me into writing for the blog and attending conferences. Although both were a bit overwhelming at first, Rand had confidence in me and never pushed me past my comfort zone or level of ability. Now, when I get an idea for a blog post, instead of thinking, "Everyone will think it's stupid," I think, "I should write that!" I'm not worried about not having anyone to talk to at conferences any more, either :)

Let's go back to snowboarding for a bit. Last weekend I went for the second time, and while I stayed on the bunny hill again (this one was called "Little Thunder," which really does wonders for my self-esteem), I greatly improved from the year before. I was in better shape and more confident, and I left the mountain having uttered a lot less expletives than the year before.

Which brings me back to SEOmoz. As most of you know, Rand's dad has been having health problems lately, which means that Rand hasn't been as available around the office. Without Rand here to act as our safety net, we had to function without him...and, you know what? We did all right! All of us were able to work on our tasks, communicate with our clients, and address SEO inquires, even though were were a (very important) man down. It wasn't even scary, either--we all just came together and stepped up to the plate.

After I got back from snowboarding last weekend, I thought about how I've been on the SEO-equivalent of a bunny hill, and how, even though I barely realized it half the time, Rand has been prepping me to graduate to the higher, steeper hill. The past year at SEOmoz I've looked up to Rand as an expert whose vast knowledge of SEO I could never obtain or achieve, but now that I reflect back on all that I've accomplished in the past year, I realize that I've learned a lot more than I thought.

I think that SEO and snowboarding do have a lot in common. Some people think they're better than they are, and when they go tumbling down a big hill, the experts just roll their eyes at them because there's more to it than you'd think. If, however, you start slow and steady and are determined to get the hang of it, you'll find that you can catch on pretty quickly. And that's exactly what I did, both with snowboarding and with SEO.

So folks, even though I have so much more to learn, I'm looking forward to graduating to the "intermediate" hill. While it will still be a long while before (and if) I'm at the peak of the mountain, standing beside Rand and looking down at the world, I'm pretty happy about everything I've learned and achieved so far. And who knows--maybe when I go to Whistler next weekend, I'll be able to master whatever demeaning name they give their bunny hill and can step up and ride with the intermediate gang.