The Lake

Beginning to a warm summer night, my friends and I climbed to the bow of the small speedboat. 

It was time to go tubing, one of my favorite activities at camp.

As the boat started moving, my hair was blowing in the wind, the water spraying in my face, and the sun was slowly starting to set.

The newest pop song was blasting through the speakers, causing the boat to vibrate and we screamed the lyrics through the loud engine and laughed as we could barely hear each other. 

Finally, it was time to get on the bright yellow tube. 

As we settled into our spots, I wrapped my fingers around the handles that were already digging into my palms, ready to go.

Suddenly, the boat flew toward and we jerked backward against the bouncy plastic.

I screamed in delight as my already damp hair was blowing in my face, making it hard to see. 

Still, I held my thumb up, signaling to go faster. 

The driver obliged, and as the boat started going in circles, we were having trouble staying on the tube. 

We hit one big wave, and I was thrown off, flipping back into the cool water. 

My life jacket quickly brought me to the surface, and I looked around for my friends scattered around. 

We swam back together, laughing about how much fun we had as we waited for the boat to circle back to us. 

Back on the boat and wrapped up in my colorful towel, I looked around at everyone’s smiling faces, and “for the first time, I was beginning to understand what life is all about.”