Summary : ' The ' Heck Yeah ! '

So I did it like 20 more times before finally resting up on the shore. As time passed by, it felt as if we spent the whole day swimming and jumping off a helicopter skydiving. Then the unexpected happen, my best friends Ivan and Nathan decided they wanted to get a go at the bridge. In my head, I knew this was not a good idea. The bridge was skyscraping, towering, mighty, I can’t even think of words to describe it. It was unmatchable and yet they want to jump off it. I tried to convince them not to, worrying that something might go wrong if they did. Quite frankly they didn’t care what I had to say and offered me to jump with them. I was already on the bridge with them and they were on the outside of the rails ready to jump. While all my friends are behind me they wanted to see all three of us jump at the same time. I was scared shitless. But being me I caved in and vaulted right over the rail and stood next to 2 of my best friends as we were about to jump a bridge. I’ve never been more scared in my life, looking down at my feet it looked like the people below me were ants. We stood there for a good 5 minutes contemplating on whether we should jump or not. The longer we sat there the worst it became, we were all trembling with fear. Both Ivan and Nathan had fear in their eyes like I’ve never seen before. I bet they were just as scared as I was. The sun was gleaming at all 3 of us as we stood there in shock and awe. But we had to man up and jump, so we did exactly that. The water was fragile, universe-blue-colour, making it appear like nature’s amphitheatre. At that very moment all 3 of us jumped, the air felt ice cold, it felt as if everything was statue still, like time froze on us. It was peaceful and comfortable, I have never experienced such a unique feeling. As we came racing down we smacked the water and plunged right for the surface gasping for air. It was a feeling that you can’t shake

In the beautiful blue water I grab the rope and swim to the end of it. Then, the boat starts to move so I pull myself up. Now, I was standing on the Wakeboard gliding across the water. Then suddenly there were waves right in front of us, and we were headed straight for them and I said to myself, “ oh crap”. I still was standing when the waves crashed into my board, but the last wave turned my board sideways and my face hit the water very hard and my face felt like it was split apart, and my family said it looked like

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

Rock climbing looks easy if you look at the right people. When you look at others you might think that you will fall to your death. My story isn't about death it is about courage, bravery, and most of all tough hope.

A private sixteen day Whitewater Rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. There were fourteen of us in all, including some family friends that we’ve been rafting with since I was seven years old, my sister, and my mom. We rented six eighteen foot rafts. Each raft was equipped with all of the necessary food, supplies and gear for a sixteen day river trip. Despite the heat, our group had several seasoned Grand Canyon guides in attendance and they knew all of the greatest side hikes. One such side hike was called Elves Chasm. It was day five. The heat was sweltering and our group pulled over to ascend to the Chasm. Even with all these new adventures my desire to go higher and make more of it was mind-boggling. I was also trying to get a good photo. I didn’t realize it, but there was an upper Chasm and I headed up over hot rocks and then onto my belly to wriggle my way through a tight small space to ascend higher up into the chasm. The next waterfall was stunning. Some of the other young adults on the trip followed and we delighted in our discovery. We jumped from a high rock into the pool below, and one of us even did it

I wanted to take that boat out and go tubing for the first time in my life. I was so excited that I even offered to blow up the tube by myself with nothing but my lungs, not knowing we had an air pump. Finally, after what felt like hours of begging like the annoying twelve year old I was, my dad said it was time to go. My sisters and I got our life jackets and wet shirts on, while my baby brother and step mom got on the boat, and my dad sat in the driver’s seat. My sisters and I were on the back on the tube, trying to find the best way to position our arms so we didn’t fall off. My dad turned the key to the boat and suddenly, my excitement turned to sheer panic. What happens if I fall off? What if my sisters fall off? What if there was a lake monster or a really big fish in the water? From that moment on, I was determined to stay on, so I held on to the handles for dear

The jump spot was a gap in the bridge that was marked by bright neon pink and white spray paint. I saw multiple names written in black sharpie in the white painted area of the jump spot. I felt a great relief to see my older sister's name written there because I knew that if she didn't break every bone in her body and die, I wouldn't either. I enjoyed the slight moment of relief, but all of the anxiety came rushing back in when I saw a line begin to form. I knew that there was no more procrastinating, because I was now in the line to jump. I was so terrified, I recall my eyes tearing up at one point. I genuinely did not want to jump, but I knew if I did not jump off the bridge I would look like a “sissy.” Slightly ashamed of myself for giving into peer pressure, I patiently yet extremely anxiously waited for my turn to jump. I watched my friends jump with complete and utter ease. They acted like it was a simple leap from a diving board. I discreetly watched as person after person took the leap. I was watching to see if there was any technique for jumping, or if it was just a thoughtless action. The line was dissipating and I did not know if I would be able to pull myself together to jump. Worried about the embarrassment to follow if I did not jump, I just prayed that everything would be okay. I was next to jump and I had come to the realization that I was not getting out of it. I

A few years back, when we had a pretty goof snowfall, my sister and I was on our way home. We had talked earlier that day about jumping out of cars and things of that nature. Stunt doubles made everything look so easy. I was overconfident and very certain I could accomplish this. As we approached the driveway, I told her that I was going to achieve this goal. She begun to ease down the drive. I was most certain that the snow would feel like I was throwing myself on to a very cold cloud. I unlocked the door anxiously, grabbed ahold of the car about to thrust myself out of the vehicle. I soon realized that I was being pushed by my sister. The reason I think she did such a thing was because she didn’t think I would jump. That experience didn’t

On a family trip to Yosemite when I was in elementary school, my family and I hiked to the base of Vernal Falls, a waterfall in Yosemite. Full of enthusiasm, I decided to hike to the top. My dad and I took a trail adjacent to the waterfall. Two-thirds of the way up, the path drew close against the falls and the granite trail became slick from moisture. My dad felt unable to climb the rest of the way, so I continued by myself. It was challenging to scale the slick stone, but I was determined to finish the hike. My tenacity paid off, propelling me to the top of the falls and

Once we got out there is was scary my friend drove me around and we went about 40 mph. I almost flew off the jet ski into the water. After that we got to a cove where we just relaxed and swam for a little bit. Then we went back after a while to eat dinner. We ate then we got in the hot tub and relaxed. The second day we went to the “jumping bridge”. That was so scary because we were all standing on the ledge a bridge while they counted down. It felt like free falling and I was terrified. After that I got to drive the jet ski. I was super excited. I was driving and a big wake came at us so I slowed down and the wake came over the nose and soaked Trey’s dad and I. We got home swam, and had a good

I slightly stood up to undo the wedge for a margin of a second, and the instant the cluster was disentangled, my chaperone had taken an abrupt turn at breakneck speed. Instantly, I flew out of the jet ski into the brisk water. I had forfeited my glasses to the lake and my life jacket seceded my body. During the instructional class, though, we were told to lie flat on our backs if we eject the jet ski. So, instead of panicking because I couldn’t see nor swim, I took the instructor’s word and laid flat on my back. Soon, my chaperone pulled up the jet ski alongside me so he could pluck me up and in, when usually the person in the water is supposed to grab on the ski and haul themselves up. This experience really helped me fluctuate the way I lived. Typically, in stressful situations like that, I would overreact a great deal, but since I listened to my instructor, I learned to not panic in adamant

Gabbie and I decided to tie the two ski ropes together, tie the end of one to the boat, and attach the tube to the end of the other. This way we were able to take the tube out into the waves without the fear of drifting away. Even all the out there, we could still stand, so we figured it would be fine if we let go of the tube. We would drift a little ways from it, but were always able to make it back. Suddenly, we turned around and were 20 feet from the tube, and were quickly being dragged out farther. I could still stand, so I planted my feet in the ground and tried to walk back, but the current was too strong. The sand seemed to evaporate out from underneath my feet. I was starting to panic; we were caught in the

Every Friday from around the middle of May to the end of the school year, my friends and I would have a “water fight”. The “water fight” was actually an excuse my friends and I made up to get away with coming home from school soaking wet. After school on friday my friends and I would walk a half mile into the woods to Black Bridge, an old train bridge that was no longer in use. None of us really knew why it was called Black Bridge or if it was even actually called Black Bridge but, it had built up the reputation of being the best bridge to jump off in the area. It was actually fairly safe; it was only a little over 20 feet tall and the river below was fairly deep and slow-moving. The only real danger was the risk of the cops catching you, giving you a slap on the wrist and telling your parents.

While I was in Hawaii, my parent made a decision to swim out to this huge rock and jump off it like everyone else there was doing. My sister kept saying, “Are you sure we should do this?”. I was quite fearful by the thought of swimming out there since I swim like a fish out

Our raft almost sank a few times because of the constant splashing of water into our raft. Each time we passed a stretch of rapids, and especially when we made it to the top of each fall a sense of anticipation would come over me I didn’t know what would happen next. There was always a chance that our raft might hit a boulder and flip, or that someone might fall out. We were always passing these jagged rocks and giant boulders that could have easily flipped our raft or got us stuck. Some of the rocks were sharp enough to give you a bad gash or even break a bone if you hit them with enough force. Many rafts floating aside us were caught on big boulders, and they had a hard time getting there raft loose and back in the water. There were only one or two very unfortunate groups of people that had the misfortune of accidentally flipping their rafts. Our guide kept screaming out orders telling us which way to paddle or lean to keep us from flipping. Luckily, we never did.