The first time I experience grit was when I first went skiing for my first time at Sundown, which is a ski resort near Dubuque. At first I did not like skiing, because I would always fall, but I was determined to be a good skier. By my second time at Sundown I started to get the hang of it. By my third night I could go down all the hills in a controlled manner, then I started to really enjoy skiing. I then found out if I keep on working and try my hardest on something it will always pay off in the end. Grit made me take something I dislike, and made it into one of my favorite things to do in the winter. Today I have been skiing for over 3 years. Even after I hurt my back skiing 2 years ago, I still went back the next year.…
I felt the stock of my bow while I was sitting in the blind. Frost had already began to form where I rubbed it off seconds ago. I looked through the small window at the everlasting snow. “Wait, was that a deer moving along those trees?” I asked myself. It looked more like a kangaroo making its way through the snow. I could barely stand up in the cold. I pulled back, ready to take the shot.…
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.…
The Fury, the fastest, longest, and tallest rollercoaster on the East Coast. With a top speed of 95 mph and a height of 325 feet makes it the biggest rollercoaster I had ever gotten on, beating the Intimidator 305 by 25 feet. I remember seeing on television and wanting to ride it really badly. It just looked so amazing and since I love rollercoasters and love riding rollercoasters, I knew it was something I had to do. I had ridden lots of rollercoasters before this one such as the Intimidator 305 and the Top Thrill Dragster, which I had enjoyed riding very much, and I figured that the Fury would be just as good. So I asked my parents of we could go to the Carrowinds to ride the Fury. They said yes and we went with my aunt to the Carrowinds.…
Trepidation filled my head. Despite the negative 10 degree weather, sweat pooled in my gloves and rolled down my face. Thoughts raced through my mind; a wrong execution could mean death. 11 years of ski lessons had cultivated to this one moment. My life was on the line, yet a wave of excitement shook me. I took a look down at the jump that had come to dominate Joe’s backyard, replacing his childhood swing set. The jump was sizable, but not gargantuan. From previous hits I noticed its “poppy” lip - skier talk for a jump that sends you up rather than out - which is ideal for the trick I was about to attempt: a backflip.…
Sight plays a very important role in the experiences one may undertake in his or her life. We use sight every day, to see the people we love, to eat, to pick out what outfit one might choose to wear for the day, and much more. Vision and the aspect of using this sense as way to learn is significant when it comes to making memories. Loss of sight is a struggle to many people and although science may have had some advantages to help people with loss of sight and restore their vision; The unfortunate fact is that these visual impairments may be fixed with no connection to brain processing treatment, which can cause sensory disorders. Infact, many studies show that researchers have undergone multiple number of experiments to furthermore, better…
The most memorable thing that happened to me was when I first discovered what I’m really good at. I came across inspiring Youtube videos of old classic Roller Derby and recent ones that were published only a year ago, I knew from the moment I laid eyes on those quads that I had to try it. In less than two weeks I was a complete natural at skating, I was all about skates. I practiced all the derby stances, exercises, techniques you name it I am absolutely in love with this sport. but as much as I fantasized about doing it I never thought that I’d actually get the chance to be part of their world and have training by the Derby Dames Juniors Freshmeat Association crew, which are ranked the top thirty-one in the united states!…
The trail continued around the east side of the lake entering a gathering of trees forming an insignificant forest along the lake’s shoreline. From our viewpoint, the trees concealing the trail eventually dispersed on the southeast side of the lake, and the trail blended into the landscape. Using our imagination, we envisioned the route against the rugged terrain sloping into the lake. No point in taking a vote now, we had trekked to the lake and the consensus was to proceed with a lap around the lake.…
Everyone has their own community or organization for which they belong to. Within that community you tend to find who you are and what you are about. For me I found my identity in being an outdoors man. Being an outdoors man at my young age seems to be rare at this day, but that doesn’t prevent me from doing something I love and appreciate. Growing up with my family full of avid outdoors men helped influence me and only made my identity stronger.…
I've never been an "outdoors" experience kind of person. Maybe, it's because I'm very sedentary and prefer to stay inside to read and enjoy tranquility. I avoid all types of chaos and crowded places. Nevertheless, my visit to the Camuy River Cave Park (back in 2004) was refreshing and enriching in knowledge, historically, scientifically and spiritually. That experience brought the best out of me, as a human being and a nature lover, by giving the chance of experiencing a whole new level of peace and tranquility.…
I’ve always wanted to be good at something. Writing isn’t one of them. Hiking however, let’s say I’m confident that I hover somewhere above the line of Intermediate. Good enough to survive high elevation glacier treks and overnighters at least. As a hobby or extracurricular activity, it’s probably my biggest passion. So much that I found that writing of them is like having the opportunity to do each one over again. Once upon a time I set forth a book project, a story telling, you might say, of all my treks including the ascent of five mountains. However, I lacked the confidence of presenting a way to share my stories of me being the key subject. Eventually the project lost steam and fell to the wayside. Even so, I enjoyed reliving each one while writing of them, and, I continued to set goals and hike. Putting myself out there in high open meadows or deep forest of the Cascades has given me a fresh perspective of my everyday world. Forget about football, baseball or sports in general. Forget about housework, yard work or for that matter work itself. Actually, my accommodating career generously facilitated this hobby that at times takes ample time and expense. Therefore, we can’t forget about work. Nonetheless, the introduction to hiking has gotten me off the couch and into the…
There are some spots that are hard to skate and I couldn't really skate well and no matter how hard I try I can't land it. There's some stuff I can do and I practice all the time to make sure I can get better I may not be the best, but I try my hardest on skating.Occasionally it's difficult to ride or it's not working out on what you want, but friends help me to do new tricks and that's why on hard spots I try my hardest even if I get a scrape or even a bruise may even have a broken bone but there's always going to be something hard to do but doesn't mean it's impossible the day could be hot or cold making it difficult to skate in but there's always a different spot.…
I conquered Mount Le Conte at the age of nine, the 3rd highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains. It intersects with North America’s longest hiking trail - The Appalachian Trail - with over 2,200 miles of mountains, rivers, and pure wilderness. Ever since learning about the Appalachian Trail, I have wanted to hike it. So that’s what I did.…
Skiing was not my forte or my favorite activity to do. My emotions were enraged at the way I tumbled down the slope. My body ached by falling and tumbling through the freezing cold snow and ice. Home sounded so marvelous right now, anywhere but here, my confidence had hit rock bottom. My face red and frozen from sobbing. I concluded that there was some other way down, nevertheless there wasn’t.…
It’s not very often when you get to go somewhere really far away and have a ton of fun. But this was one of these times. But I never would've thought of the one thing I would have to do when we went to Disney World.…