Personal Narrative: Devil's Lake, North Dakota

For two years I worked as a camp counselor for the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA). In this time, I have worked day camps, inclusion camps, social program,s and even an overnight camp for children, teens, and adults with special needs. My responsibilities were to plan crafts and activities that were inclusive to the various needs and abilities of the campers. Most of all, being a camp counselor meant creating a safe and fun environment for each

On a cold Thursday morning, school was in session but I was starting on my way to Lake Winnibigoshish. I was going up there with my five foot nine, one hundred forty pound dad and my five foot nine, two hundred thirty pound neighbor. We stopped in at the Senior Center for some donuts, and went to Holiday Gas Station for some coffee and a cold drink.

Red Lake Ontario a place that I’ve been But only in my dreams in the last year and ten It’s always been with the boys, mainly my son I invite you into my dreams because you’re my special one. The cabin on the hill faces north over the lake But as the sun set down theres not even a wake

While we sat in our rambling tan and yellow cabin among the trees at 416 Spencer Falls Lane at Big Bear Lake, we watched the gloomy rain fall all morning long. Finally, the storm passed and the dark gray clouds passed over, the sun shone brightly on the wet grass. Yes, the day soon was as pleasant as any other august day, of course we knew it was frequently the case with a warm summer rain. This time, however, the rain had swelled the river washed away our small wooded bridge. Elaine my youngest sister sat beside the washed out bridge, she was so unhappy because it was loss. It was then that a shiny blue convertible drove up beside her, the four of us, our names are: William, Martina, Ella and David, watched as the car approached, it was around

“Your decisions reveal your priorities” Sometimes your priorities are hard to reach, but it always pay off in the end. My priority is basketball, and that is why this why my decision was to go to this camp. This was my first overnight camp away from my parents.

Looking back out of the small window, I catch a final glimpse of corn fields and lonely railroad crossings before they dip below the horizon. For my first time on a plane, the excitement of adventure meets me as I depart from the comfort of home and enter a world unknown outside of Nebraska. Seeing the world in God’s view as the landscape evolves below, I fall in love with flying. Looking down from 30,000 feet and seeing earth on such a vast scale, I realize how much there is to discover.

I'm from Round Rock, or for those of you who don't know where that is, we'll just go with Austin. Round Rock is great and you can find activities to find on some occasion, but when I am in Austin I am never bored. I used to go downtown a lot when I was younger with my Mother, Father, and older sister, but as my parents became busy and my sister and I became more involved in school we make the 20-minute travel to Austin less and less. I grew up with my two sisters and mother in the safety and growing town of Round Rock, but when I was able to drive my friends and I would make the drive downtown to enjoy the ambiance of Austin. I was given more freedom than my older sister was given in high school, but I couldn't complain my mother trusted me

Hannah is a twenty year old girl from Egan. For the past 3 years she has spent her summers at a bible camp up north called Trout Lake Camps. The first time Hannah stepped foot at the camp she didn’t want to go. She spent the school year there working in the office. But now the thought of not stepping foot there makes her think about all the good times and bad times she had. From sleeping in chapel or getting stuck in a canoe, she can’t help but be thankful for being forced to go there.

is here and the duck calling begins. We are looking right, left, forward, and up. A gun shot is heard from guys hunting in the blind in the woods. After this lovely sound, the excitement bar is raised. We look around some more; a pair of mallards are spotted. Dad and grandpa call even harder. This will be Reyce and I’s cue to place our hands on our guns and get ready. Once they are in shooting range dad yells, “now!”. Everyone pops up with adrenaline running. Depending on where the duck is, depends who will shoot. If a duck is knocked down the “dog”, also known as me, fetches the dead duck. Occasionally it will not be fully dead. We will have two choices, shoot again or grab it by the head, swing the duck around, and break its

Let's start back when he started having his early stages of his complications. Something that he loved to do during the summer, was to take us camping at Joe Pool Lake for the weekend. Whenever we would go camping, he would also bring our pontoon boat with us to either go swim out on the lake, go tubing, or go fishing. This day was different though, he didn't seem like himself at all. Some of my mom's friends came out to the campsite, so we were all wanting to go out on the boat, and usually he is the first one to ask us if we want to go out on the lake, but he was nowhere to be found. My mom went into our camper, where he was laying down in bed, and asked "Do you want to take the boat out on to the lake with us?" He said "No, I'm not feeling good. My stomach hurts, but you all can take the keys and go." When he said this, we didn't think much about it because stomach aches and pains can be a normal thing that can come and go. Well little did we know, this was just the beginning of the most terrifying and tragic journey that we have gone through. We proceeded to take the boat,

In July 2016, I had a wonderful day planned. My girlfriend, Audrey, and I were prepared to spend a full day at Lincoln State Park. After eating breakfast at Denny’s, we pulled into the entrance of the state park. With our swimsuits on and backpacks strapped, the hiking began. To say the least, we had a long, long hike with minor incidents including a small snake that caused me to scream like a little girl and a tower we climbed even though I am afraid of heights. To wrap up the day, we swam in the lake infested with little, microscopic minnows and took our turn at canoeing, which ended up getting us stuck in the middle of the lake. All in all, the day of adventures with Audrey was relaxing and refreshing, but unfortunately, the excitement was

The third Saturday of November was one filled with conflicting emotions: excitement, fear, optimism, and nervousness. The screeching sound of the alarm at 4:00 a.m. initiated a sense of panic and thrill throughout me; it was the opening day of the gun deer hunting season. Within minutes, I was dressed from head to toe in bright, blaze orange that could be recognized from miles away. I reluctantly, yet willingly, climbed into the truck to head to the hunting land in Adams County, Wisconsin. My stomach felt like it was tied into knots. My mind was again flooded with conflicting emotions. I began to wonder: will I get a deer? Will I not get a deer? Will I get a buck?

I was bored. The car ride was long. I thought the trip to my grandpa's boat lake Michigan would be short, but I was wrong. We hit every red light and I was losing my patience. We finally get there, the weather is bad, it’s raining, I had a sniffle, and we catch nothing. “Patience” grandpa said. A few weeks later we go out again, still nothing, but at least it wasn’t raining that day. I’d never fished before so when my hook caught pieces of seaweed I thought it was a fish. My grandpa reminded me that you must be patient. Then I reminded him that he “guaranteed” me that I would catch a fish by the end of the summer. I told him that we would catch fish if we went out into the lake instead of just fishing off of the back of this boat on the

No matter what you do, it is almost impossible to stay upset or stressed. You can go cliff jumping, the cool water rushing all around you, and nothing seems to matter besides floating in the calm lake. When you climb out, the scent of fish and freshwater is all around, in your tangled hair and on your bare arms and legs. Then you can lay out on the beach and soak up the sun while whiffs of cooking burgers float around and the thought of the flavor of juicy, crisp fruit and ice cold bubbly soda make your stomach rumble. Running and hiking over the hills helps you unwind by being in tune with the environment and renewing your energy outside. The resources found at Devil’s Lake assist the visitors like me in having fun and relaxing, such as the lake, the hills, and the beaches.

It was a hot summer day, I was in the water at Lake Nawsomento. The water was brisk and refreshing it was a great mix of hot and cold because the air was hotter than a sauna and the water was as chill as and ice cube. The mountains that surrounded me seemed almost like paintings rather than real mountains. I was just about to try my first time skiing ever, my teacher was also in the water with me giving me correct technique and strategy. He telling me to keep the rope in between the two skis. Here I go, I tell the driver to “hit it” and I am off I try to get up on the skis but as soon as I almost get up I take a nosedive into the cold blue water. I try again but I just fall on my face again. I am getting frustrated, annoyance also starts to