Personal Narrative: My Trip To Lake Tahoe

The most memorable vacation I’ve been on was my trip to Salem, Massachusetts. It was February 2012, we left at 9pm so we could sleep all day the day before, so we could drive the 8 hours to Salem. I packed lots of long sleeved shirts, jeans, hoodies as well as heavy jackets and boots. I got my camera and I packed snacks and a cooler for drinks and sandwiches for the ride to Salem. Before we left we stop and filled the car with gas. It was 512 miles from Fredericksburg, Virginia; where we lived at the time. We took interstate 95 which took us over the George Washington Bridge in New York, which lead us to interstate 87 that took us into Massachusetts.

Imagine sitting on the white sandy beaches gazing out into the beautiful blue-green water. You can hear the waves crashing against the shore, and smell the salty ocean water. Life is perfect. In my short life time of 13 years I have gone on a few vacations, but my favorite by far was a cruise in Hawaii. That trip was so amazing because I got to visit four beautiful Hawaiian islands, and experience many amazing activities. In Oahu I was able to swim with dolphins, visit Pearl Harbor, swim at the beach, and shop. After Oahu we stopped by Maui where I went snorkeling, ate at a traditional luau, and saw the sun rise from the top of an inactive volcano. That was amazing and I thought it surely couldn’t be topped, but it was when I visited the big island and Kauai. I went to a black sand beach, did amazing shopping, and went zip lining. The ziplining in Kauai was such a fun activity. When my trip finally came to a close I was reluctant to leave, but happy to have the memories of this spectacular vacation.

Anne Fadiman’s “Under Water” strikingly relates a particularly morbid, yet surreal experience: the death of a teen, Gary, in a freak canoeing accident. From writing about this particular incident, Fadiman reflects her own development and maturation as a person, from an “impatient” person to one who is “no longer in a hurry.” However, in a more general sense, the essay also deals with how people react to death. In the seventh paragraph of “Under Water,” Fadiman’s use of personification and the use of a metaphor describing the body of Gary highlights how individuals insistently attempt to detach themselves from death, refusing to accept the truth of the situation, ultimately damaging themselves in the process.

Imagine that it’s summertime, year 1955 in Chicago. You are 14 years old and your uncle wants you to ride on a train with him and your cousins down south, Mississippi to be exact, because he has been asked to conduct a funeral. You are excited, not because of the funeral, but because you get to ride on a train with your family to a state you have never seen before. The very thought of spending any part of your summer in a new place, should not only excite you, your mind should be racing with anticipated joy of seeing a new place, meeting new people and experiencing new things. Towards the end of your trip, you should be anxious to return home, knowing that you will have lots of fun stories to tell your family and friends.

Every Once and awhile, tragedy strikes, and the whole country sits still. On January 13th, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed. An event such as this one, though tragic, is sadly fairly common. Although, on January 13th, every soul in the united states had their eyes glued on the news channels, following the crash. There are many speculations about why this crash, in particular influenced the public so dramatically. On this day, a multitude of innocent people fell victim to the catastrophe, while some became heroes in the process. One man, known as the man in the water, had a particular pull on the hearts of the country. The man in the water showed a great deal of courage, strength, and selflessness in a time of disparity. The article, The Man in The Water, by Roger Rosenblatt, follows a central theme of heroism.

The Johnstown Flood was caused by a man made lake, it was constructed in 1881. The dam was 900 feet by 72 feet. The dam was one of the largest earth dams, which means it was made by things like rocks and dirt instead of cement or steel which bridges are mostly made of. Johnstown was built on the Appalachian Plateau. It was the center of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. The lake had been used for fishing and sailing. Before the dam broke, there had been many warnings that it was possible that it could break,but they had been ignored. “Messages were sent to Johnstown warning that the dam might give, but after years of false alarms, the messages were ignored. The water began to top the dam, and eventually it gave way” (“The Johnstown Flood”).

You never know how helpless you are until you have a near death experience. One summer, when I was young, my family and I went to a water park. I didn’t know how to swim, but thankfully the majority of the park required no swimming ability. For one of the rides, I wanted to get out of my tube and jump around, but once I climbed out, I immediately sunk to the bottom. I tried to kick back up and just as my legs gave in, a lifeguard climbed in and pulled me up. I was grateful to him, but something was bothering me. I couldn’t save myself. That was the moment I decided that I was going to become a lifeguard someday to help myself and many others.

The darkness took over every corner of the streets. Squirrels scurried back to their trees, tripping on rocks and stumps as if they’re being chased. But me, I just felt lost. It was like I don’t even know where I’m going or where I came from, just that there is this thing in me that just leads me to that place. A few stumbles later, I felt that searing shock deep in my heart come out of nowhere. That’s when I knew something was about to go down. “The time…what time…” I kept saying to myself, but I had no intention of distracting myself with something else. The only thing in my mind was that place I was going to. My legs walked me over the stumps, by the sewer drainages, and under the overgrown branches, even if my mind didn’t know where I was.

The drive was almost unbearable, but the thought of spending the week in the snow with family kept me going. It was only a four hour drive, but at 9 years old, it felt like an eternity. The scenery slowly changed from flat land, to rolling hills. The hills were covered in yellow dying grass, but they were still beautiful. Then we started to make the climb. Up mountains, through the passes, constantly surrounded by trees or a cliff that gave a wonderful view of the mountain next to us. We were so close to the snow of Lake Tahoe. We had been to Tahoe before, but this was a new cabin for us. We were all excited to see the cabin, but more importantly, looking forward to searching for sledding hills the next day.

A warm morning, sun shining with a slight breeze, and calm waters; the perfect day to learn how to water ski. I had never been water skiing before, I barely knew what it was, I was anxious to say in the least. I stood on the dock as my parents maneuvered the boat into the water, I’ve never been so uncertain. My family reassured me that everything would be okay as I was strapped up my life jacket. I stood on the edge of the boat, apprehensive, but I had to jump in the water, it was now or never.

I’ve always been fascinated by karma. Fair - sure, but sometimes creepy and dusty. Dressed with an invisible cap, It lurks in the darkest of the dark nights of forgotten ones, tormenting every single guilty and ignorant soul to death. You may think it’s madness, but I, Santiago, when the blood moon was floating in an ocean of ever seen darkness, implored the hidden forces of the night to help me to get my revenge but instead of giving me supernatural powers I was conjuring, an inhuman idea embedded my brain so strong that I could feel every cell of my brain worshiping it and standing in my enormous but hideous mansion, so hideous a raven would refuse to announce the death of the owner of this house, I promise that Lucenzo shall never breathe

In 1900 one night in Lidtke Mill there was a horrible incident. A young boy was playing by the water. Out of nowhere he got pushed by a guy covered in black. The kid didn’t know how to swim so he drowned.

I had destroyed the majestic carpet, it was shattered in pieces while I heard a mournful scream racing around the room, the master exasperatedly grabbed my leg and ruthlessly swung me across the room into the tomb as I went into survival mode. The tomb was an old filthy cistern, buried under the court with a slippery stairway leading up to the rusty iron door covered with vines. There was no light down there besides the sun rays that managed to brutally flash through the cracks and holes. The tomb had very little air, you nearly suffocated. It feels like someone is grabbing your throat and squeezing it. When you become itchy you have the desire to itch yourself, but that just makes things worse as the blisters on your hand become jaded.

Albert Einstein once stated, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” I remember that quote from Jeopardy, but I never actually thought of anything of it. The category was transcendentalism and I remembered that pretty clearly because Alex Trebek was complaining about how long the word was to fit in the box. So when transcendentalism was introduced in our class, I felt a familiar wave of nostalgia hit me. I was pretty excited to start my essay, but I didn’t have time on the weekdays, so I decided to work on it during the weekend. It wasn’t until Sunday morning, the day before it was due, that I forgot to do it. I had that guilt in the back of my head and I sat straight up in my bed at around 4 am, pondering about the essay. I

The sound of the whistle jolted me into action. I dove from the block, and a wave of silence crashed over me as I hit the water. For a moment, there was a sense of serenity as I swam under the surface. The spell broke as I rose for air. I could hear everyone yelling and cheering. Tuning out the noise, I tucked my head under the water, staring at the pool’s tiled floor. Nearing the wall, I lifted my head to gather a breath of air before my flip turn to start my second lap. Looking up, I saw five of my team members at the end of my lane cheering for me. With a renewed energy from their excitement, I turned and continued the race. After the race was over and I was out of the pool, I took my hard-earned ribbon and scurried back to where my swim