I am adventurous. No I don't sky dive, wrestle crocodiles, or swim with sharks, but when asked by a group of friends to go cliff diving last summer, my best response was, “Sounds like fun!” I had never been afraid of heights yet have never experienced the thrill of cliff diving. All I could ask myself was, “What could go wrong?”
Boom. Breath. Boom. Breath. Each step sounded like a war drum banging in my ears. The harmonious rhythm of my steps consistent with my breath continued on and on as I made my way up the side of the cliff in the middle of these Colorado woods. The sweltering heat was hindering my vision, and I began to feel dizzy. The worst part is, I am all alone.
I knew taking this shortcut was a mistake, yet I didn't think I had enough strength to keep climbing this monumental cliff with the others. The humidity was affecting my vision and the ground now started to spin. The muscles in my legs felt
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My sweat soaked shirt was clinging to my throbbing sunburn, and the salty droplets scalded my tender skin. “I need this water,” I reminded myself when my head started to fill with terrifying thoughts of me passing out on this ledge. I had never been so relieved to see this glistening, blissful water. As inviting as the water looked, the heat wasn't the only thing making my head spin anymore. Not only was the drop a horrifying thought, but I could see the rocks through the surface of the water and couldn't push aside the repeating notion of my body bouncing off them when I hit the bottom. I needed to make the decision to jump, and fast. Standing at the top of the cliff, it was as if I could reach out and poke the searing sun. Sweat dripped from my forehead, down my nose, and on its way to my dry, cracked lips which I licked to find a salty droplet. My shirt, soaked with perspiration, was now on the ground as I debated my
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Show MoreHe judged the distance to be about a mile from the lodge to the waterfall, and crept slowly past the spiders. Careful not to make a sound, he trudged only on the dry land whenever he could and had to take off his shoes sometimes to avoid a squelching sound. He almost reached the water when suddenly a spider changed direction and came for him. Losing all sense of sneakiness, he ran to the waterfall and hid behind it. Although he lost the spider, his clothes were drenched and he had lost his shoes during the run. Now that he’s made it to the actual waterfall, it's time to climb. Now as a child Jerry’s dad always made him practice climbing, in case he got trapped somewhere in the mountain and had to climb out. Those punishing practices left blisters and limbs that ached for days, and Jerry hated them. But now, faced with an life-or-death moment he was glad for having them. The only problem was the shoes being missing. The distance vertically from the bottom to the top of the waterfall was about a hundred feet, easily accessible for someone without a fear of heights and good climbing skills. But Jerry had two major liabilities; the absence of shoes and the mossy slippery stones. Then Jerry realized that his strength was waning as the cold of the water seeped into his bones. And so without a second thought, he began to climb. The toes and hands fighting for whatever room they had on the smooth rocks and moss. Jerry was about half way up when disaster struck. It was a particularly smooth section of the rock and when his right foot tried to gain purchase, the left foot slipped, causing Jerry to plummet. The sensation of falling was almost relieving to the exhausting climb, during which he was shivering. Right as he began wondering when the fall was going to end, he landed back first into the bog and slammed his left arm into a small piece of sharp rock. The pain
Christopher McCandless’ long, fascinating, but an ultimately fatal journey into the wilderness of Alaska is depicted in the biography, Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer. Late in the of summer of 1990, a very young Christopher McCandless left his ordinary world in Annandale, Virginia to pursue a solitary life in the untamed wilds of Alaska. Many will insinuate that Christopher McCandless’ actions were childish and idiotic, but a stronger argument would be that his unconventional thinking and desire to live life on his own terms allowed him to reach self-actualization.
There is much controversy over whether or not minors should be tried and convicted as adults; most often with cases involving murder.
Eggs came first. Millions of years before mammals, eggs existed, their hard shells unlike her mammalian sister who waddles around, heavily crippled with the burden of her womb. Eggs conferred evolutionary advantage.
As I inched my way toward the cliff, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. I could feel the coldness of the rock beneath my feet when my toes curled around the edge in one last futile attempt at survival. My heart was racing like a trapped bird, desperate to escape. Gazing down the sheer drop, I nearly fainted; my entire life flashed before my eyes. I could hear stones breaking free and fiercely tumbling down the hillside, plummeting into the dark abyss of the forbidding black water. The trees began to rapidly close in around me in a suffocating clench, and the piercing screams from my friends did little to ease the pain. The cool breeze felt like needles upon my bare skin, leaving a trail of goose bumps. The threatening mountains surrounding me seemed to grow more sinister with each passing moment, I felt myself fighting for air. The hot summer sun began to blacken while misty clouds loomed overhead. Trembling with anxiety, I shut my eyes, murmuring one last pathetic prayer. I gathered my last breath, hoping it would last a lifetime, took a step back and plun...
...as I began to walk in the water every imperfection on my body burned as the salt cleansed my skin. Knee high in the Dead Sea and my body even then began to feel weightless- the water carried me. 3 feet deep and no matter how much I tried to touch the bottom, I couldn’t. No one was splashing because if the salt got in your eyes it would be an unbearable burning feeling. For the first time all senior year I felt like I wasn’t in control. I let the water carry me. There wasn’t fear, I didn’t worry about getting carried out to far, nothing lived in the water so no matter how far I went, nothing could pull me under. For the first time all year I wasn’t worried about graduation, finals, or even college. It took me dipping my toes into something big and scary to finally feel relaxed and at peace with myself.
the building towered over the water. As I looked at the building I was informed the only way to reach the top was to climb the tree next to it. Sighing, I started the climb to the top. Wedging myself between the building and the tree, I moved one foot at a time. It was a slow process, but after about three minutes of hard work my feet were safely on top of the building. Drenched in sweat, I started preparing for the dive. I was the only one of five to make the climb and I stood at the top by myself. My bravery and determination had put me here and I was hoping these traits were going to allow me to escape the situation. With no safe way down, I was left with one option. Looking over the edge my breath was taken away. My heart was beating and my muscles were tightening up. Without thinking I leaped and fell the 65 feet into the
Have you ever wondered how some athletes have gotten so good at a certain sport? Have you ever thought about what they did in order for them to get this good? For some the answer is simple; workout and train. But for others the answer is different; the use of performance enhancing drugs such as steroids. There are some people that argue that steroids should be legalized and allowed in professional sports. Other people argue that steroids should not be allowed. Today I am going to state my opinion and justify my reason. Steroids should not be allowed in professional sports because it can be very dangerous to the athlete’s health, it is a way to gain and un-fair advantage and it can be dangerous in both social and physical aspects.
When I sit down to write a paper I simply just stare outside from where I’ am sitting, until a great sentence comes flying across my head. If that doesn’t work or simply start double guessing myself, I end the conflict in bringing both my sister and parents into the argument. As a result, they end up resolving the issue through stating what sounds great on the sentence, or what can be done to make it sound better, by following all prerequisites. Most of which ends up giving an excellent pay off, since my parents are in my personal opinion a great help when it comes to starting an essay. While others may argue that parents don’t have sufficient educational background as to help them with anything related to school.
Sivi and I have spent a lot of time talking with, and taking care of Senior Citizens on a volunteer basis. Through many conversations, we discovered that one of the major regrets that people have, as the near the end, is that they didn't experience everything that they wanted to when they were younger. The major reason for this was fear. Fear that they would fail or fear that they might be injured. Sivi and I had decided years ago that we would never allow fear to prevent us from trying something new. Now, in our middle and late forties, we had decided to voluntarily jump out of a perfectly good airplane just for the experience of doing so.
A blast of adrenaline charges throughout my body as I experience the initial drop. My body's weight shifts mechanically, cutting the snow in a practiced rhythm. The trail curves abruptly and I advance toward a shaded region of the mountain. Suddenly, my legs chatter violently, scraping against the concealed ice patches that pepper the trail. After overcompensating from a nearly disastrous slip, balance fails and my knees buckle helplessly. In a storm of powder snow and ski equipment, body parts collide with nature. My left hand plows forcefully into ice, cracking painfully at the wrist. For an eternity of 30 seconds, my body somersaults downward, moguls of ice toy with my head and further agonize my broken wrist. Ultimately veering into underbrush and pine trees, my cheeks burn, my broken wrist surging with pain. Standing up confused, I attempt climbing the mountain but lose another 20 feet to the force of gravity.
I remember a time in my life not too long ago when my family and I went white water rafting for the first time. We had been spending some of our summer vacation at a cabin in the Smokey Mountains, close to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The next day we would experience feelings of exhilarating excitement, with a sense of suspense and anticipation as we rafted down the Nantahala River.
The diploma, a pristine ivory paper with your name written on it, that’ s rolled up with a ribbon tied perfectly, a piece of paper everyone thrives to achieve. Everyone is expected to own this paper and those who do not is classified as a “failure.” Society’s expected “success” requires a college degree; however college isn’t the best option for everyone because many profession doesn’t require it and everyone has a different definition of “success.”
Cliff jumping is not as dangerous as it seems. Before I had ever done it I had the notion that cliff jumping was far more petrifying than it actually was. I had let peers and videos keep me away from trying it. Change happens when people stop letting past experiences dictate their future decisions. In the absence of experience, one should not rely on others but be more willing to try new things in order to create a memory that could possibly last them a lifetime. The memories I have and the challenges I have faced helped shape me into who I am today. Life is all about change and the memories that come with it.
Many don’t realize that the road to success isn’t so much a road as it is a winding,