Even though Lori and I never pushed our boys (well, too much), they clamored for adventure. In the summer of 2002, this adventure once again led John back to the water. He’d heard that his best childhood friends were doing Junior Lifeguards. “Can I, Mom and Dad?” Saint John, wanting to save souls and bad swimmers. “Well, remember, you’d be a junior guard. I think that’s when you learn to save yourself.” “Oh. Okay.” John had already lost about 95% of his sight. He could distinguish bright light from dark, and see some things as shadowed objects, but that’s about it. However, he still had to tryout to join. They required that he swim one hundred yards, then ten more underwater, then tread water for five minutes. As John had about …show more content…
It was a foggy summer, and the water was cold, but he met each day with a smile. He fought his way through the surf into the deep blue, guided by a strong voice on the beach. “Swim left, John! Keep going! A little right! No! The other right!” Out he went to round the buoy. Of course, the professional guards were nearby should he lose his way completely, but still... Alongside seventy-five other kids, John competed and played each day. He raced up and down the beach holding hands with an assistant or with one of the other kids, learned about the ocean and its inhabitants, and pitted his 80 pounds of pure muscle against the crushing waves. He never talked about how he was different in that he couldn’t see. He just did what was asked of him. It wasn’t his strength that allowed him to survive, but his willingness to persevere, his belief in what he was doing. He knew he was loved. He trusted in that love and care. He won awards for competing in the Junior Guards Iron Man contest, which included competing in five training events in one day. He enjoyed Junior Life Guards for several summers in a row. And Lori and I didn’t really mind the hours we had to spend on the beach,
When Marcus was 14, he really got interested in the navy seals. He started training with ex-army soldier Billy Shelton. He made this training brutal. In this training Marcus and a couple of other teenage boys who wanted to be a Navy Seal would have to carry cinder blocks while they ran a half marathon. Then once they finished running the half marathon, they would have to do hundreds of pushups and situps. Once they got stronger after...
High school buddies and members of the swim team Walker, Nortie, Lion and Jeff accept the challenge to participate in Stotan week, a week of rigorous swim training that pushes them beyond physical pain and tests their moral fiber, changing their lives forever. In the novel Stotan by Chris Crutcher a team of teenagers and best friends brace themselves for what’s going to be the hardest week of their lives mentally, physically, and emotionally. A “Stotan” is a cross between a stoic and a Spartan. Through this time of hardship they learn about friendships, relationships, dealing with cancer, racism, and physical abuse. Each of the four best friends learn more and more about each other and help each other when they need help. They come together as a group, team, and family. Each of them have a tremendous conflict that can not be resolved with just one persons help. They all help each other repair the emotional scars if one of them were suffering. They all have one thing in common which was that they all want to be the best they can be and being so determined. In Stotan By Chris Crutcher four boys Walker, Jeff, Nortie, and Lion experience a time of emotional and physical turmoil with the only way to overcome these barriers is to come together as a team with determination in mind.
They were a single thing, a crew.” The boys realized they were more than just friends they were teammates. There teammate was sick and they weren’t crossing the finish line without him, so they took him along anyway. They had been working on this for three years their teammate deserved to cross the finish line. The boys learned to become a team and trust each other.
“So…” His harsh voice started, sizing me up thoroughly. “You’re the institution’s golden boy eh, some mid-twenty something greenhorn coming in and telling us how to do our jobs without a single day of patrol under his belt!” “Twenty-two actually sir.” I replied blankly.
If not for Louie’s drive, commitment, hope, and resolve, many of the men stranded at sea, including himself, would not have survived for as long as they did. His years as a juvenile delinquent and subsequent career as an olympic runner helped strengthen Louie’s character and instill confidence within him, which, ultimately prepared him for being lost at sea and surviving the horrors of World War 2.
Most people don’t realize that they are so fortunate to have legs. For example, when Jesse lost full use of his legs in an accident, he felt his life was over. He thought “...his future had been smashed along with his legs.” (Pg. 20) Jesse thought that soccer was more important than anything else until he saved a beached dolphin. However, Jesse started to realize something he did not before he met the dolphin. The dolphin made him realize there is so much to live even without the full use of his legs. He thought of his family waiting to welcome him like the dolphin’s pod. He realized his family would “... be worried because he’d been gone so long”. (Pg. 23) The dolphin helped him realize that his family is always there and realize the importance of life.
In “On a Wave” by Thad Ziolkowski there are some life changing/shaping lessons in his life. Thad realized at a young age that he loves to surf. At 11 years old Thad looks older than most 11 years old, which allows him to hang out with the “cool” kids after a surf session and smoke pot. Thad learns early on that pot and surfing would eventually grow on him as he became more induced into the surfer lifestyle.
Most people experience dramatic events that demonstrate to them just how fragile life is. Whether these events are acts of gruesome violence, or deaths of a loved ones, the frailty of life is evident. However, for me, this was a different story. As a southern white-boy, my realization came in the most unexpected of places – the Hawaiian Islands. When I learned of a snorkeling trip mid-vacation, I was overcome with anticipation and couldn’t wait to embark on my “Pacific Pilgrimage.” This vacation would prove to be a dramatic turning point in my life.
David Goggins described himself growing up as “a kid going nowhere, a kid that was scared”. David is nowhere near being that anymore, but he has now grown up to be one gritty human being. To be gritty you must persevere through the hard times with passion while also having the courage to self-improve. David broke the Guinness World Record for pull ups; has completed over 50 endurance races, and he also became a Navy Seal who completed three hell weeks. David Goggins used perseverance, passion, and self-improvement to overcome all the obstacles life threw at him.
Murphy’s law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. As someone who bears the name I can attest the truth in that statement. I have an extremely blessed life and do not endure the suffering that many people do on a daily basis. However, I have bizarre connections to small misfortunes and circumstances that follow me back as far as I can remember. Any acquaintance of mine will attest that things in my life never go as planned and anything that can happen will. Yet through a collection of misfortune, one can still find solace and benefit through their tribulation and see that negative experience could actually be positive.
...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 Swimmer,” a short fiction by John Cheever, presents a theme to the reader about the unavoidable changes of life. The story focuses on the round character by the name of Neddy Merrill who is in extreme denial about the reality of his life. He has lost his youth, wealth, and family yet only at the end of the story does he develop the most by experiencing a glimpse of realization on all that he has indeed lost. In the short story “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses point of view, setting and symbolism to show the value of true relationships and the moments of life that are taken for granted.
Have you ever had a moment in time that seems like minutes or hours even though it was only a few seconds? Have you ever seen everything before you play out in slow motion, where you are aware of everything around you, yet not knowing what was going on? I have, and as I look back on it, I feel very blessed and protected. On March 21, 1987, I decided to take a little swim in our swimming pool and almost drowned.
Have you ever had a moment in time that seems like minutes or hours even though it was only a few seconds? Have you ever seen everything before you play out in slow motion, where you are aware of everything around you, yet not knowing what was going on? I have, and as I look back on it, I feel very blessed and protected. On December 22, 01, I decided to take a little swim in our swimming pool and almost drowned. I still can remember it like yesterday. This incident almost cost me my life,
Blood ran across his face and down his sandy chest."He must have hit a rock when the waves crashed him against the shore?"I began to panic, I hurried to find something to cover his wound. I took a portion of his torn pants and wrapped his forehead up in it. He awoke with a scream of pain and looked around frantically trying to figure out what was going on. "Tom are you OK?" "Umm ya!""We were washed ashore and you probably hit your head on a rock.