Personal Narrative: The Suwannee River

For as long as I could remember, my father was a Boy Scout Leader for troop 232 in Orange Park, Florida. My brother, Robert, was in the troop and being the little sister, I weaseled my way into the troop as well. I was appointed the “mascot”, which allowed me to attend all of the camping trips, my most memorable one being in 2008 at the Suwannee River. The Suwannee River isn’t just a song, it’s a place full of aquatic life, known for beautiful scenery and natural springs; but it’s also the place where I almost lost my life.
One day of the trip, my dad took us canoeing down the river early in the morning. It was a beautiful day until we saw little yellow eyes staring at us through the water, belonging to an alligator whose babies were sunbathing
I frantically tried to get to the shore, but all I could feel was my body being dragged further and further away towards the rapids. I was terrified. Not because of the rocky doom I would encounter, but of the scaly green monsters I had seen earlier that day. My thought was “I’m going to get eaten, I’m going to die”. I desperately tried to grab onto trees that were hanging above me, but I was seven and lacked the height and strength to maintain a solid grip. My step-brother Bobby attempted to save me by handing his plastic gun to me screaming at me to grab on, but there was too much water, and it slipped from my grasp.
I watched as my dad plummeted from the cliff into the water, and started swimming towards me. My memories are shaky, but through a tunnel of darkness and rushing water, I saw him grab my life vest and pull me onto his back. He swam against the current with super human strength and will power, until we reached the shore. Thing is, this all happened within fifteen seconds. My dad swam fifty feet down a rocky river in six seconds. I could have died that day, but the man who helped bring me into this world put everything on the line to keep me