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Personal Narrative: Lake Water

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I could feel the squishy green algae between my toes, and the smell of dirty lake water kept invading my nose. Behind me was a heavy, waterlogged kayak, two paddles, and my ten year old cousin, Jaiden. Ahead of me was almost a mile of lake to slog through with my load. The task ahead of me seemed insurmountable for my twelve year old, ninety pound body. “I don’t think I can do this alone,” I told Jaiden. But when I looked back, she was already far ahead of me. Sure enough, I would have to do this alone. It was really her fault anyway, but there I was, stuck cleaning up a mess that wasn’t mine. We had been kayaking across Summit Lake in Lassen National Park when our combined weight became too much for the little kayak. It simply stopped moving, so Jaiden tried to jump out and lighten the load. Instead of me going on smoothly, the kayak flipped over and became submerged in the water. …show more content…
I saw my family picnicking on shore and realized how fatigued and hungry I had become. I felt like giving up and floating until someone came out to get me and the kayak. Instead, I powered on towards shore; my unsophisticated flutter kicks splashed water onto my back and neck with every push.
As I made the painstaking journey across the rest of the lake, I focused on the gratifying feeling of flopping down on the sandy grass that would come later. Even though I felt like death personified as I sloshed through the water, I kept the end in mind and made it.
I don’t consider this one of my fondest memories, but it taught me a lot about how to handle failures and problems. Making it across that lake with the boat intact showed me how important perseverance is, even when the end seems impossible. Sometimes, all you have to do in life is show up and slog through the murky water. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to, or if you can’t imagine ever crossing the finish line. As the Nike slogan says, you have to “Just Do

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