First I take on the slide
I take a deep breath and down I glide.
The water dripping from my lifejacket sends me flying
There I go.
Off the boat and into the lake
I sail off the end and plummet into the water.
Closing my eyes, plugging my nose,
The nerves are finally washed away.
I’m ready for another go
A few more times, and a lot more screams.

“Jump of the top,” my dad suggests
I’m unsure,
Is this safe?
Will I really be okay?
Reassuring myself that I’ll be just fine,
I climb the stairs
One at a time
Slowly.
I’m truly dreading what is to come.
I shuffle over to the edge
Surveying the surrounding area,
Staring down at the still water
I take a deep breath
And start to count down
“Three”
“Two”
“One”
And I jump.
And I fall,
And fall,
And fall

I’m slowly speeding through the air
I squeeze my eyes shut so that I don’t see my fate
It feels like I’ll never reach the water
Until I do.
My feet slap the water,
The coldness rushing through my veins
My life vest brings me back to the surface
Back to reality from the calm, dark life under the water
Then I realize,
I did it.
I jumped.

The excitement I experience is like no other
Like when you finally understand that math problem you could never figure out
A huge weight is lifted off of my shoulders.
I look around at the fuzzy water, as I’m bobbing up and down from the boats passing by.
Hearing the slight cheer of the birds, the cicadas, and the crickets
It sounds like they’re congratulating me.
As I swim towards the boat I start to think
I’m glad I risked it.