Screams pierced through the salty, humid, California air. Intimidating rides towered above me, even the thought of riding them terrifying me. Thundering waves crashed as a backdrop for the “Belmont Park” sign that about touched the clouds. Excitement and anticipation coursed through my veins. My palms turned clammy and we made our way through the never ending line to get our tickets. Wafting through the light breeze was the sweet aroma of funnel cakes, cotton candy, and hotdogs. Looking around me I knew one thing, I was determined to go on the three most daunting rides, the Giant Dipper, a hair-raising roller coaster, the Beach Blaster, sickening my stomach at the thought of it and lastly the dark looming room of extreme laser tag.…
“Whistle! Point! Clear the Pool!” is a phrase that completely dominates my life. For the past two summers I have been blessed worked as a lifeguard for AMS Pools. This year I was lucky enough to compete in the lifeguard Olympics in my area within the company. Lifeguard Olympics are an organized set of events and relays where we compete to show off, which team has the best overall lifeguarding skills and techniques. Each event has some type of scenario in which the lifeguard has to rescue the Guest In Distress (GID) and the lifeguards are ranked by time and points can be lost if improper procedures or techniques are displayed to the judge(s) and on top of that only the top three teams in each event will receive points. And the whole scenario must last no longer than three minutes.…
I watched my cousin Robb jump into the pool and race through the water. I was thrilled to be in Baltimore experiencing Robb, who was born with Autism and Down Syndrome, swim at the Maryland State Special Olympics. My cousin Astri and I were Robb’s biggest cheerleaders, cheering him on as he swam. I was hoping I would witness his victory. There was one woman who I had my eye on because we had met her in the locker room before the race. Something I will never forget was holding the door for her. She had the same enthusiasm and appreciation for life as Robb. It was impossible to predict that the chain of events following would occur. After the race had begun, she collapsed and died in the water. As I watched the medics pull her out of the pool,…
When I was on the swim team during my sophomore year, I became a leader and lead our swim team to victory. The first few meets that buffalo grove high school participated in, victory did not seem like a possibility. Fortunately , with intense training from our new coaches and leadership skills from the older swimmers, we were able to turn that losing streak around into a glamorous victory. When the time came around for the practice 5 days before the meet. Ultimately my strategy was the 100 x 100’s. A combination of back to back butterfly , breaststroke, and freestyle, with only 7 second breaks in between each stroke. Unfortanatley, that was one of the most excruciating practices the BGHS swim team had experienced in the 2014 season. Although…
The University of California, Merced’s Men’s Basketball team was so enthusiastic, as well as full of energy that humid Saturday morning as they prepared for an extraordinary adventure at Lake Yosemite. Each player greets Dr. Boggs, also thanking him for taking his time off from work in the health center to take them to the lake. Dr. Boggs, feeling warm-hearted and comforted, appreciated the well-mannered basketball players and cannot wait to get out in the lake. “I have brought my boat out here today so you guys can get the full lake experience, but I need to go over some safety procedures. I also need to explain to you all what exactly we will be doing today.”-Dr. Boggs.…
This spring I spent two-weeks in New York visiting my daughter and her family. I spend a lot of time in the city, and I love it, not only because my daughter has chosen to create and raise a family in Brooklyn, but also because of its walkability. I’m not much of a shopper, but I do like to watch other shoppers, particularly those who dress as if they’d like to be watched.…
Bethany Hamilton was 13 year old amateur surfers. She had the determination of being a pro surfer. Then one day Bethany was attacked by a tiger shark causing her to lose her arm. She was rushed to the hospital where they stopped the bleeding. She had to learn everything with only one arm. Bethany is resilient because she is determind, confident, and she not going to let nobody or anything stop her.…
Gallons of sweat trickled down my face while I seamlessly ran up and down the track. At times, I didn’t think I would get through it. It was an everyday struggle to continue my journey down the path of success. At practice, we would relentlessly run and run and run until our breathing neared nonexistent. I, for one, could barely keep up, but the fight inside of me did not die out. My coach would tell us that our meet was nearing and our will to win kept pushing everyone harder. We ran three to four miles a day with little to no breaks. He would yell motivational phrases to push us, but in all honesty, we just wanted to get back in our beds and sleep the day off. Although this is true, It became important to me to work to better myself and though…
I have been running since I started Modified Track and Field in the seventh grade. Running has been a part of my life ever since then. When I decided to join track I felt as though it was the worst mistake that I could have ever made, simply because i did not like running as a child. After trying it for the first year and not giving up I enjoyed it very much and that is when I stated that I would continue to run track till I graduated high school. Then came ninth grade and not only did I continue to do Outdoor Track but I also joined Indoor Track and it helped me improve with my running for Outdoor Track. I participated in Soccer from sixth grade till ninth grade, because come tenth grade I realized I had a strong passion for running,…
Two days. Two days was how long the break between training for track, and training for cross country started. As a team our goal was to have the top 12 guys run 500 miles each, which at the time seemed to be an unreasonable goal. However Coach Hampton was confident that this was a reachable goal and encouraged not only the top 12 guys, but the the JV guys as well, to join in and train with the top 12.This was the summer of 2016, I had just had track state and made it to finals for the 4x8 only to get my relay disqualified because I cut into the inside lanes of the track before the cut off line. This had been our goal all season, make it to state, get to finals, and see what happens. Causing my relay to get disqualified is one my worst moments…
Across from me was a handsome, dark haired man, broad-shouldered holding a Les Paul classic custom guitar playing melodious songs while I lay on a nice big red beach chair. In my hand was a big glass of iced tea shimmering in the bright sun as I took a sip it cooled the inside of my throat causing me to keep my cool temperature in the hot summer. It was the perfect day to be out, with the sun casting just the right amount of shine to give me that perfect sun-kissed tan. I was lying on a beautiful red chair with my legs sprung up in a gorgeous white cotton maxi dress. As, I got up and started to walk towards the ocean I could hear the waves up ahead. I took my shoes off and set foot on the hot, white sand. I could feel the sand going through in between my toes from every step I took. As I stroll along the edge of the beach I feel free of worries and stress, I am just enjoying the holidays, no school, or work just free time. In the middle of the ocean were many surfers in yellow shorts riding in the various color surfboards. They were going so fast doing so many tricks…
Something I wanted to do this summer was sleep more. If I would have slept more I would’ve been happier. I also wish I could have spent the night at my aunts and uncles house more. I wish I could’ve tanned more also. I wish I could’ve played, hiked and swam more.…
Nearing the end of the tube I can almost see the shore, It feels as if I've been riding this wave for days. This wave is my hurdle in the ocean that is life, choppy at the beginning but slowly passing by. The ocean has many waves, one for each surfer to ride, my specialty wave happened to be dyslexia. It was in the second grade that my teacher first realized I was different from the other students, because I had yet to read my first book. My parents had found this odd as well, and took me to see a neurologist, who diagnosed me as having dyslexia. I did not quite know what this meant at the time, I only knew that it was the reason I could not comprehend the topics as easily as my classmates.…
Like many other boys, I love to swim. Since the age of five, I have spent many summer days in the YMCA pool. When I was 13 years old, I desired something more challenging than casual swimming, so I joined the high school development team for the Badger Swim Club.…
Butterflies, Complete panic, a thrill of excitement as I slightly glance at the clear and pure water below me. A feeling of wanting, drilling through my mind when suddenly, the race is called, my first event, I feel a shudder run from my head to my toes as I am standing in a line with my competitors or you could say, my new enemies. When I get up onto the block the gun fires and the race has begun, I leap into the water and swim with all my might, like a sword fish catching its prey, kicking, holding my breath until I reach the surface. As I leapt into the icy cold water, I feel calm and relaxed, but now was not the time to be relaxed. After the first three laps, my heart was beating a thousand times a minute as if I had run a marathon, but all I noticed was that nobody was swimming by my side. “Could it be possible,” I thought to myself, “that I was ahead of all of my competitors?” That was when my heart instantly beat faster as I was on my last lap, gasping for air. My body was filled with excitement as I heard my name being chanted out in the crowd by my swim mates and coach. When I finally finished my race, they tell me my time, I feel a rush of pride, a personal best! I close my eyes and listen for my name being called for first place. I did it! I get out of the pool, and my adrenalin eventually dies down. I will never forget the feeling of pride and accomplishment from that…
