Darren's+Narrative+essay

I chose this essay because it was my favorite essay to write. This is because I could go back and reminisce about fun and enjoyable events. The essay was more fun for me because I had alot of information that i could include that was still fresh in my mind.

The First Ski Trip About three years ago I found my favorite pastime on the slopes of Pennsylvania, during winter. It was during this one faithful trip that I realized that snowboarding was the one thing that I had been missing in my life. Although I had many bumps and bruises after the trip I still had a wonderful time and have been going every winter since then. The whole family was really excited to hear that we were going to go on a weeklong trip to a ski resort somewhere in Pennsylvania. My siblings and I were all especially excited because we had never been skiing or snowboarding before and were ready to give it a shot. As the week of our trip neared we all started to gather all of our gear. The house was cluttered with winter coats, gloves, boots, snowcaps and other winter apparel. We were packed a day in advance before Friday so that we could leave directly from school and not waste any time. On the day of the trip I could not pay much attention to my work in school and was oblivious to everything except my daydreams of going down the slopes on my snowboard. Finally, two forty-five came around and my parents picked us kids up from school and we headed for Pennsylvania. On the way my sisters and I were jumping up and down in our seats due to the untamed excitement. For five hours we spent the time recounting the ideas that we had in store for the trip and how much fun we were going to have. Eventually we reached our destination, the Liberty Ski Resort. All of my siblings and I were so amazed at the mountains as we approached the parking lot. But soon we learned that getting ready for the slopes was not all fun and games. Everyone got dressed in their snow gear and headed up to the main lodge. It was at this point that we purchased our lift tickets and rented our snowboards. We all waited patiently in line, wondering the whole time if the line of skiers would ever end. When we finally reached the end and rented our boards we went strait to the slopes. My sisters and I were all eager to learn how to snowboard and how to get on and off the lifts. Our dad, who is an exceptionally good boarder, instructed us on all the details on how to turn, stop, and get on and off the lifts. Eager to get on the slopes we all proceeded to race to the lifts and wait in line once again to get on. As the lift neared we all took a deep breath and sat down on the lift and started moving up the cable. Getting off the lift was a little trickier and most of us fell down the first time. The first run down all of us except for my dad must have fell a hundred times. Once we reached the bottom we received more instruction on how to keep our balance and how to turn while moving down the slope. Our next run was a little better but we all fell down a lot still. Through out the day all of us started to get the hang of the whole snowboarding thing but still needed practice. The last few runs of the first day my dad decided that I had improved enough to go on a harder trail. It was at this time that we went down the steeper, rougher slope. The rush of going fast and the adrenaline that was released was the best feeling in the world. The next day we all practiced again on an easy slope just to make sure that we remembered all the maneuvers from the day before. When we all agreed that we were ready, we went to the top of the mountain and did the harder trails. My sisters and I all loved the feeling of going fast down the steeper slopes and the challenge that was placed before us. That day we spent the whole day on the slopes and didn’t even come off for lunch. Eventually we all had to head back to the hotel and went to bed. Everyone was anticipating the next day when we could hit the slopes one last time. The last day was amazing; it began to snow in the morning so the boarding conditions were perfect. With this kind of weather we all looked like we knew what we were doing and could easily make turns with little effort. By noon it had snowed almost six inches. The powder was so soft and smooth that when you crashed into it was like falling into a giant feather pillow. My Dad finally decided to take us to the backside of the mountain where all the expert runs were. We were all really nervous when we looked down the steep slope. My Dad was about to have us go back to the easier trails when all of a sudden my sister dropped off the face of one of the hardest slopes and started carving her way down. I looked at my Dad and other sister in surprise, and then chased after her. After that, we all became courageous we kept trying new slopes that looked terrifying, but were liberating as if I were on another planet. The last run of the day my Dad decided to go down the most difficult run on the mountain. He sent my sisters and me down one of the easier slopes and said he would meet us at the bottom. When we met up at the bottom my sisters and I were all disappointed to hear that it was time to go. The snow was starting to fall even harder and the conditions were epic for snowboarding on the east coast. We all loaded our gear in the truck and headed on the long five hour-long journey home. Most of us slept all the way home and dreamt of the next time that we would be able to go snowboarding on the slopes. This trip is one of my most cherished memories that I have. I was able to learn a new skill and fell in love with it as well. I also learned to be humble in the fact that snowboarding did not come as easy to me as most things do. I had to practice hard and to never give up no matter how many times I had fell down. All my patience and determination finally paid off in the end because I fell in love with a new sport on our wonderful vacation. Ever since that first trip our family has visited ski resorts all around the east coast and plan to head out West when this year’s season comes along. This is one time of the year that I look forward to and one that makes me feel so free and alive. Most of the year I spend my time daydreaming of how much fun the slopes are and how much I enjoy them. I feel that everyone should have the chance to learn how to snowboard or ski because this is one thing that would bring happiness to anyone, no matter who you are.