We are away in Costa Rica with another family and our big excursion for the day and we will be repelling down huge waterfalls. Throughout the day the size of the waterfall will differ along with the way we will go down, and at the end of the day we will jump off a monstrous … Continue reading Leap of Faith
The warm thick air whipping against my face as I clamp down on the elephant sized boulder resting far out from the shore. Michael by my side; a cousin that I have known ever since I was just a kid. Out of all of my cousins I have the strongest relationship with him because he … Continue reading Cheating Death
Not knowing what exactly to expect in the future is a scary thought. So, if you have ever moved, you can probably imagine how I felt as I drove away from my friendly, welcoming home. I was not able to get rid of the feeling of regret growing in my stomach, or was it emptiness? … Continue reading Empty
I had cried into my pillow for around a hour. I was so upset. But what bothered me the most was that my mom didn’t take my side or at least that’s what I thought. I mean she seemed concerned but not so much, not the way I wanted her to be. Whatever. But it’s … Continue reading Fixing What Has Been Broken
My mom’s silver SUV rolls out of the Sherwood Farm’s driveway. We are not coming there to pick up “real fruits and veggies,” but my best friend Natasha. Sherwood. As the car stays still on the entrance/exit of the farm’s driveway, the signal flashes green. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. It points left until finally, my mom … Continue reading The Ride
“I remember the time I witnessed about twenty people getting snowed into one house.” Every year for christmas my family and I visit Thousands of people; My Mom’s Mom and my Dad’s Dad and my mom’s sisters and my Dad’s sister and my Mom’s Dad and my Mom’s Brother. Thats a LOT of people. On … Continue reading Snowed In
“Not it!” “Not it!” “Not it!” One by one all my cousins and uncles were screaming “not it” so that they didn’t have to bomb the matchstick. Every year in Groton Long Point we all play a game called matchstick (my dad and his brothers made up a game called match stick when they were … Continue reading Match Stick Mistake
“Sarah, Brooke” We all were calling for the two ten-year old cousins. “Wohoo” my dad whistled. I thought the whole world could here his whistle. Apparently not, Sarah and Brooke didn’t come back. The whole family was worried. My aunt got in her car and drove around the whole block once. When she came back … Continue reading Shadows on the Sidewalk
United. Together groups of diverse ethnicities, cultures, and upbringings, cheered as one when a Yankee Great, no THE Yankee Great, slowly strolled to a small white box in which he would swing his bat. The epic milestone that this legend could quite possibly surpass would become the highlight, of his already illustrious career. Upon … Continue reading The Shot Heard Around the World
Imagine: you’re on a bright red strong zodiak, bouncing on the white waves that are surrounding you. Seagulls sing their song as you whoosh past them. Seals stick their heads in and out of the water to say hello. As the fog horn blast and the fog gets thinner, there is a puff of mist … Continue reading The Exciting Voyage
As we pull into the parking lot in my friend’s minivan, we hear shots being fired. We put on our gear and load our weapons. We stop and grab our care package out of the trunk and move to our AO. We put the care package down and get ready for game team. … Continue reading Ground Zero : Black Hawk Down
“Ahhh,” We shouted as we lunged towards our enemies. With one swift blow I swept their legs out from underneath them, crippling them for a moment. While taking him prisoner I thought about how this took precise planning over a long period of time, and how all of it was time spent well with my … Continue reading “We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Base!”
I sat there, watching them run by me as I laid down on the frozen grass. I couldn’t believe that it was only 5 pm and it was already pitch black. It was New Years and there were 2 other parties going on down Rock House Road, with lots of screaming. We had a lot … Continue reading Rock House
“ Can you two please, STOP, you are giving me a headache,” my mom screamed. Apparently, my brother Matt and I couldn’t hear her due to the fact that we continued fighting over the stupidest thing. A blender. Why? I don’t know why, but I guess that’s what siblings do. My long brown hair draped … Continue reading Cut It Out!
“Clonk!” The door closed. The teacher is out of the room. What is usually thought as a peaceful and quiet class has turned into a room of anarchy and running 4th graders. Back then, I was that one quiet boy who sat at his desk doing his spelling homework 5 months … Continue reading Teacher Out of the Room
“That was a very good course. That wasn’t just a course that was THE course.” Daniel said. I could see the happiness in his expression. “Erin you had zero faults on course zero faults on leads and changes. Any chips or longs?” Daniel asked Erin the owner of Silver Linings Stables. “No chips or … Continue reading Silver Linings
I’ll always remember this moment. Always. In my last moment of death I will remember this moment. This story, this experience is basically drilled into my brain forever and ever. The fact of the matter is that I’m basically drowning right now. Goodbye friends, goodbye family. How did it get to this? An hour before I was completely fine, sitting on the grass next to a murky lake making a pile of rocks for no particular reason. I always did pointless things back in 4th grade, just to fill the lonely time at my brothers baseball games. Of course, I should be bored at baseball, I mean after all it was just a bunch of boys trying to hit a small ball with a big bat. The sun was shining high in the sky with the smell of hotdogs and other junk food in the air, children were screaming and yelling in the distance as wind rustled through the trees. Nothing special here. “Hey Johanna come over here.” Jeez louise, a 7th grader, talking to me? This never happened because I was of course only 9. A real life teenager actually freaked me out. What if I said something dumb? What if she doesn’t like me? This 7th grader was named Hailey and we had sort of a friendship. If I saw her anywhere besides baseball she would ignore me. It was weird. I walked over. “Yeah what is it?” I said with curiosity “It’s way too hot out, maybe we should go swimming.” “Umm I don’t know if that’s the best idea. Isn’t the lake infested or something?” “I’m sure it’s perfectly fine, nobody will notice. Why don’t you go first?” This is where the trouble starts. Right here. The truth is back then I absolutely fell for peer pressure, especially from someone older. My mind went blank and I couldn’t think. I stood up straight and faced her. “I don’t think I should, the lake probably has snapping turtles.” I timidly explained. “Yeah right you’re just using excuses. If you don’t go in I’ll tell everyone you’re a baby.” I again could not think straight. My mind clouded with pictures of everybody calling me a baby and making fun of me. “Fine.” Why had I said that? I couldn’t swim well. The lake was filled with creatures and dirt and darkness and little kids peering over the edge looking to their doom if they fell over. I was terrified of it. Little beads of sweat were coming down my face from the sun and the stare of Hailey. We were both standing on the dock now to the water, looking down I peered into the despicable, disgusting, downright dirty lake. Why oh why had I agreed to this? I knew I was going to do it one way or another. Swimming was not my thing at the time and the lake was about 50 feet deep. I took a running start and hopped in. Water clogged my nose as my body submerged into the cold dark water. My feet and hands started to tangle with water weed and I knew I couldn’t keep above the water for long. At this very moment in my life I decided that I hated teenagers. Being convinced that theyĺl look cool if they get some random kid to go swimming was not someone I wanted to hang out with. Cold water shot at my body like bullets and my breath was knocked out of me as I struggled to keep my head above the muddy substance. I bobbed once, went under all the way and got back up. I bobbed twice, struggling to make it back up. The third bob under was the one I was sure my life would end by. Suddenly a hand grabbed me and I knew I was saved this time. The mystery hand grabbed me and pulled me up on the dock with all of its strength. The most surprising thing was the identity of the hand. It was Hailey. Jeez, did I look like a baby now. “It’s fine that you couldn’t swim very well, I thought you could by now.” “Yeah I’m not the strongest swimmer.” I replied without looking her in the eye. I was so embarrassed. A teenager had finally talked to me, and I had made a fool out f myself. Not my best day. As I trudged back up to my parents I knew I was in big trouble. My new soccer uniform that I had been wearing was ruined with waterweed and disgusting clumps of dirt and plants. My parents were not happy to see me. They scolded me about what I had done for a week … Continue reading Why I Hate Teenagers
“BOOM, BOOM, BOOM,” hearing the sound of multiple fireworks blowing up on the streets of Annapolis. Meeting up with our cousins, Cole, Quinn and Kylie and their mom and dad, who live in North Carolina. Everyone trying to catch a glance of the red, white and blue fireworks fly into the sky. My mom and … Continue reading Uncovering the Surprise
Sound bounced around my ears. It shook from the sound rumbling around in my head, was wet and damp out cold and chilly and the breeze made me shiver. It was worth the wait . . . It was a cold New York City day the sound of the wind howled in my face as … Continue reading Jam Session
It was almost the first month that I have lived in Connecticut. My mother took me to a camp that went to six flags. On that day a kid named Caden Levitt showed me a video on a ride called The Goliath which wasn’t a big ride but it was known as the scariest ride in six … Continue reading Losing to Goliath