Feeling the waves crash against the edge of my little Butterfly and lapping over the sides onto me, I flew through the water. I held the ropes and rudder securely in my hands as I aimed straight for the sailboat ahead of me and, beyond the other boat, the buoy. All was going well when suddenly a wind gust came in, and I knowingly kept the sails sheeted in with the intent of getting back into the race. Despite struggling to keep control over the boat, I felt the sail tip and plummet into the water below. I fell over backwards into the refreshing water as I watched my competitors sail on. This happened again and again and I am pretty sure I set a new record for the most capsizes in a Camp Michigania teen regatta. Ever. Period.
Every year my family goes to a family camp for University of Michigan Alumni called Camp Michigania. There are bundles of fun things to do including archery, horseback riding, and examining the nature, however this story takes place on Walloon Lake, the lake that Camp
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Unfortunately, somehow during that process my main rig got interlaced around the tiller of Tristan and Alex’s boat and so I had to jump out and untangle that. Just when I had gotten back into the boat I looked ahead and almost every single racer was closing in on the first buoy. I sheeted in with the hopes of catching the next wind gust and catching back up while everybody was busy pirouetting. But when that wind gust came, I underestimated how much my boat would tip and I capsized. One of the terrible things about being a midget is that I did not weigh enough to get my boat up again, so I waited for the lifeguards to come help me get my boat back up. At this point my chances of not getting last were pretty slim, but luckily there was a threesome that had also capsized on the same wind gust that I did and the couldn’t get it back
Everything for a year had been leading up to this point and here I was in the middle of the happiest place on earth in tears because my friends had abandoned me in the middle of Disney on the senior trip.
Many of the adventures and memories around the secluded pond in southern Indiana faded away with the summer sun, but the wholesome values passed on to me are immensely more important than any formula will ever be. Through everything that my family has overcome, hardship and triumph, every summer we are able to gather under the pavilion. As we walk away on Sunday evening, we are inspired by the heroic tradition of our family, and also motivated to be as brave and courageous as the family members that came before
I never wanted to leave. I truly thought my life was ending on that August day in 2010 as the Peter Pan bus pulled off the dirt bumpy road in New Hampshire on its trek back to the Bloomingdales parking lot in Connecticut. The night before, I stood on the shore of New Found Lake looking out at the horizon on my last night, arm and arm with my sisters, tears streaming down our faces as our beloved director quoted, "You never really leave a place you love; part of it you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind." Throughout the years, I have taken so much of what I learned those seven summers with me. I can undoubtedly say that Camp Wicosuta is the happiest place on earth; my second and most memorable home. Camp was more than just fun even as I smile recalling every campfire, color-war competition, and bunk bonding activity I participated in. It was an opportunity to learn, be independent, apart of an integral community, and thrive in a new and safe environment. I recognize that camp played an essential role in who I am today.
My step-dad saw what was going on and he ran to me and caught the bike as I almost fell off. I just said I’m fine and went and sat in a chair. It turns out I had a broken arm and cuts and bruises. I did learn it the hard way, but I also learned from the race. I learned you can’t give up. I kept racing and turned into a better more experienced rider. The tough way was the best way to go.
In order to prevent any collisions with the rafts, there was a one to two minute delay between the starts. Everyone watched raft “A” with envy as it went down the river first, and it made it out of sight without any problems. My excitement was growing as raft “B” went down the river; they got stuck initially but were able to fix themselves pretty quickly, although it felt like an additional hour to my anxious mind. Finally, it was time for my raft’s departure. We jumped in the raft without caring how cold the water was, we were ready no matter the cost. I started in the back of the eight person raft, which meant I was paddling along with the people in the front two seats. Everything was going great, we only had a few minor instances where we got
I was up first vs this tall big kid with spiky hair. As the wave came I knew i was gonna win as he was on the side where it was already crashing. As it lifted me off the ground and onto my board. He trailed me by doing the same but I had the lead. We were both on the wave so now it was whoever had the better trick. He quickly took action and tried to catch my drift and pull out a 180. The nose of the board caught the tip of the wave and he fell straight into the the crashing wave and disappearing into the water. Now it was all up to me, I just had to do a trick and land it but time was running out. The wave kept getting smaller and almost as if it wasn't good enough to trick. But I lifted my board up into the air planting my feet perfectly
At last, I could see the first boat racing across the Chattanooga Lake with four more boats drifting behind it. The crowds were no longer in their seats, but were standing on their toes cheering for their team. I could tell that losing was not an option for these rowers, as their strokes gradually began increasing in velocity. At this point it was a question of which team wanted to win more. The UGA novice team answered that question as soon as they ripped through the finish line with their last powerful stroke. I found myself on my feet and cheering for my winning team as they held their heads high and victoriously. I was not expecting to be feeling this involved and interested in a rowing race, until I actually experienced one.
...re are fifty boats in our race, and we got third, now that's not too bad for a busted fin." This did not seem to help, however, as there was no apparent response. "I don't know about you all, but after this, it just makes me want to bust by butt during the off-season to come back here in the Spring and kill them all!" Slowly, but surely, everyone's heads raised. I realized that this was not the end at all. We made a pact to work our hardest to come back in the Spring and win out as much as possible. As the commotion settled, Chris quieted us down, "Okay, come on guys." He put his hand in the middle of the circle. We all followed his lead. "We will not let an unfortunate accident get in our way! We will not settle for third place!" With that we all threw our hands up into the air. I looked around and smelled the breeze. Suddenly it was the best feeling in the world.
On February 21, 2016, I, Deputy John Arnold, went to 11747 West 105th Street South to assist another deputy in reference to a fight in progress.
Somehow me trying to push myself forward only ended up making me float even slower down to the second drop only 10 feet in front of me. The water was quickly falling down the miniature waterfall, and the water that was splashing up created a rainbow bridge over it making the drop seem happy and joyous. As my last final attempt to get over the fall without having a splash in the water was to try and hold onto my boat praying that I wouldn’t get cold and wet again. WHOOSH at that moment I already knew what happened because a surge of cold water hit my face, causing me to panic and thrash around to try and find my protective flimsy boat while struggling to get to the
Having spent the better part of six summers hiking, cooking, orienteering, and practicing archery on the trails of Huddart Park, California, summer camp became a very precious time of my life. When I entered high school, I began working as a Unit Aide at my camp which meant I had the privilege to now teach young girls a whole slew of tasks such as survival skills, first aid, and knife skills. While attending Woodside Priory High School, I heard about similar activities such as archery and overnights that Mountain Camp counselors hosted. Chris Gregory encouraged me to look into the camp and see if it was something I might take interest in, and I soon discovered that it definitely captured my attention. I adore working with kids and would especially
I did it. I jumped off. The cold air hitting my face as I plummet towards the gravel. Some panicking, some remained still. I heard one lady scream. Crashed. The pain jolted throughout my body. It didn't hurt as much as the realisation that I didn't succeed. I was still alive. People started to surround me, some dialing 911 to seek for professional help. A man was telling me "Hold on, you'll be fine". I didn't want to hold on.
That was the first race of the rest of my life. In my junior year, my third year of high school, I was defeated by the member of the Greenwich Black Crows, but I still received third place in the state. Exactly three years after my second place performance earned me a spot on a collegiate swim team, it was me on the podium at trials. My victory wasn’t over my competitors, but the water, the water that beat me so many times before, it came down to a 43 second race in the Olympic trials and the three elements, one hydrogen, two oxygen, that I battled for so long.
After countless hours of uncomfortable naps and tasteless meals between flights, we finally arrived at the unfamiliar land of America. Leaving all our dear friends and families behind, I was told that we came here in hope of a better future, my future specifically. I was never really socially active and at the time, English was a whole new concept that I have yet to understand. The inability to communicate with other makes it even harder for me to express myself and it mold my personality to become more antisocial than I ever was. There’s always this uneasy feeling that linger when someone talk to me and I cannot give them a response and it’s even harder to say something because I was afraid of making a mistake and make a fool out of myself.
The first thing that occurred during our class meeting was the guides explaining the safety and precaution. The guides emphasized how to load the canoe properly in the water by holding the gunwale to avoid capsizing into the river. Next, they explained the proper technique for paddling and the proper use of the life vest. Following these safety measures and executing the proper technique will enable the canoe to stay on course. Upon returning to the dock, one of my classmates asked me to take their picture paddling the canoe. Unfortunately, my classmate stood up, which caused the canoe to capsize with both participants on board. After checking on their well-being and confirming that they were safe, the whole class enjoyed a good laugh at their