Personal Narrative: Digging Down The Llano River

At the time I didn’t think it was strange that none of the adults were wearing lifejackets. I also didn’t find it odd that my uncle was about to jump in the depths of the water without one. Hailey and Tim jumped in the water off of the back of the boat, both their heads dunking under and immediately bobbing back up to the surface. Hailey immediately started screaming and crying and grabbed onto her father, not realizing she was safe and that she was drowning her dad! After a few moments of confusion, my mother jumped in wearing clothes head-to-toe trying to save Tim. She swam over to him trying to pry Hailey from her dad. My mother succeeded only to have Hailey cling to her neck also. My mom went under the water not coming up for several moments, screaming and sucking in air when she came up. Hailey had begun to drown her also. My mom says she still to this day remembers her life flashing before her

My head went back, and my feet popped up. I felt the frigid water seep into my hair, and soak my scalp. I heard my mom’s soft voice trying to keep me calm, and reminding me to keep my bellybutton up to the air as if some puppet master was holding it up by a string. Every time my mom tried to let me float by myself, my feet would begin to sink. It was as if I was a weight on a fishing line pulling it down into the dark abyss. I couldn’t seem to stay relaxed, I was as stiff as a two by four. That fire was still burning my inner forest deep within me. I remember startling myself out of the float, because I did not feel my mom’s hands supporting me anymore. I scrambled for footing on the bottom of the pool floor feeling the rough pool floor slip past my toes a couple times before I got the traction to stand up. I was kind of confused for a moment as I tried to get the water out of my eyes and nose. My family was now all out in the pool area, and I realized the moment I have been dreading for the past few years of my short life was here and I knew it. My family was going to have me jump off the diving board, in hopes that it would dissipate my excruciating fear of water. My heart was beginning to pound through my

On September 1, 2012, I walked into my fifth grade teacher’s classroom for the first time in my life. Mrs.Cullen was standing in the front of the door with open arms ready to welcome her new fifth grade students. As I made my way to my desk and sat down next to Charlie Schutt and Quin Timmerman, I got the feeling that middle school would be a time of talking to some of my best friends and cruising through classes. As the school year progressed, and classroom seats changed, my thought of how Middle school would be changed as well. On the first day Mrs.Cullen explained our schedule, Homework detentions, and demerits. After about fifty questions, she sent us off to our first class, and the first step of our Middle School journey. The fifth grade

Wow! When we ride around on dirt roads every weekend, we always see people with nice and exciting fourwheelers or golfcarts going to the sand pit.Sometimes people will take their fourwheeler to the sand pit in Axson, even a new fourwheeler.They will go in deep water with it. If I had one I would not go in water with it, at first anyway.But in Axson now, there is water over the roads, because the Satilla River is out of the banks.The water is so much out of the banks, you can not go under the bridge at Axson.

Rugged River Rapids In the rugged river rapids, The salmon slowly swim. Four years in the ocean,

In my school I am part of a community service group called start something, we help people in our community who are not as fortunate, or help clean in our community to keep our city beautiful. My first community service event was the Spicket River cleanup, the Spicket River is a small river that goes through Lawrence. The river goes through many parts of Lawrence, some people’s trash ends up in the river,[every year I look forward to this event to help the environment and my community] this is why every year I look forward to participating in The Spicket River Cleanup.

I have been in the now disturbing Quetico lake for the last 12 years of my life. I can’t take this. I have one way out, and that is to get someone in, trapped. I am captured in the deepest part of the Quetico lake, 300 feet below, I have gone mental. Around every month someone passes and I restrain myself from knocking, pleading for help. The only way I can get out is if I knock on a boat that passes and put them in my place. I never wanted too, for twelve years I haven’t. I know they will be trapped with a terrible way to escape. It will mess with their mind, but I could not take the pain of going insane. I was stuck...until now.

In Eagle River, Wisconsin June of 2006 my parents and I made the 30 minute drive from my brothers camp, Kawaga, to mine, Chippewa. I was seven years old sitting in the back seat of this car thinking about how my brother, Max, loves his camp so I would too. However, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We arrived and my parents stopped the car to take a picture of me in front of the big red rustic sign “Chippewa Ranch Camp” it said. As we drove down the long dirt driveway it finally hit me that I was about to get out of this car and not see my parents for an entire month. I couldn’t even spend the night out I would call them to pick me up at midnight from my friends homes, how in the world was I going to survive four whole weeks of

There was one severe weather even that had happened during my childhood while growing up in the south tip of Texas. It is an experience I would never forget.

My most favorable event was when we did the scavenger hunt at The Riverquarium. I learned about a variety of species of fish. The Spanish Hogfish was one of them. The Hogfish lives in the Gulf of Mexico and is purple and yellow. In addition, there was the Blue Hole Springs. The Blue Hole had carp, bass, alligator snapping turtles, sunfish, and a sturgeon. The sturgeon was a black sturgeon. I noticed that it has sharp bone running along its back. The plaque stated the sturgeon uses those bones as a defense mechanism. For example, if another fish were to eat the sturgeon the bones will cut through the other fish.

Living in the Rio Grande Valley for most of my life, I’d have to say I was raised in a very loving environment. My family members were never too far away from us, either being directly across the border or being a mile or two away from my house. The thing is is that everything seemed so close, yet so far. Family was close, but everything else was a lot farther, meaning that I’m no stranger to 7 hour flights or forty-five minute drives.

Each September, October, and November morning, I sprang out of bed to cross off the day, counting down until the arrival day of my friends Austin and Alexis. They reside in a neighboring town of Seattle, Washington, and anticipated their visit to Texas as well. Once each week, we would call and plan our time according to the activities that they wanted to do. When the Douglas family flew into Texas, they stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. My frugal mom researched and discovered Great Wolf Lodge water park tickets for sale, and purchased them. This allowed my family and me the opportunity to play with Austin and Alexis in the humid indoor waterpark on the crisp November day. Neither Austin nor I desired to journey on the “River Canyon

I am beginning to wonder if my entire treacherous expedition into the heart of America has been in vain. I came in search of cities more mighty and impressive than Tenochtitlán, but all I have found are some simple farming villages.

In August when we took the extremely long, tiring trip, a little over 4,000 miles actually, to California and back I wanted to strangle you and Kyle. All you guys wanted to do was eat greasy food or junk and look at the same stunning view at the Grand Canyon for hours. Although at the time I didn’t seem like I enjoyed it, I did when it came to some things. We walked and we walked, but it was worth it. Whether it be around the the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, across University of Southern California’s campus, or hiking above Los Angeles, I loved every moment with you guys.

On March 14, 2014 I, had gone to the Buffalo National River for an overnight solo backpacking excursion. I hiked 7.5 miles, from Steel Creek to Kyle’s Landing, and camped out along the way. What is notable, is that I had never been on a backpacking trip. Nor, had I ever camped out by myself before. It was also the first time that I got the chance to sleep in the Hennessey hammock-tent that was bought years before. The reason this matters, is because previously, I had been unemployed for a year and a half, nearly everything I owned was in the trunk of the car, and I really didn’t have a life that I wanted to go back to. I was also 25lbs greater than I am today, had just quit smoking six months earlier, and was ridiculously out of shape. Nevertheless, I knew deep down in my little soul that if I could survive this trip than I’d have a chance of finding what I was looking for.