Department of English

Spring 2005 High School Edition

Snorkeling on the Reef

Kasie Barger
Essay (9th-10th)
First Place
Canyon View High School
Teacher: Cody Christensen

“I can’t believe this, why am I letting you talk me into this?” exclaimed my friend Jamie as we were de-boarding our boat. “I mean, in a few minutes you will drag me in to that water whether I like it or not, and then I promise that I will hate you forever.”

“That’s right, I will because if I didn’t then you would regret it for the rest of your life, and instead of hating me, which would be hard to do anyways, you will be thanking me. After all, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Besides wasn’t it you this morning who told me that there was nothing to worry about when I was freaking out?” I replied.

So off I went, dragging Jamie behind me, to be fitted into our life vests and other various snorkeling gear. Naturally, Jamie stalled as long as she could muttering something about not liking it when fish looked at her or touched her and other stupid junk like that, and that she didn’t even like to eat fish, along with all other sort of blubbering that I, of course ignored.

My blonde, flirty friend Erika got tired of waiting and decided to go off into the water before us, because she saw Van, her latest crush of the day, and of course she couldn’t miss her chance to flirt with him! So she went off with our other friend Megann who probably had some boy she wanted to chase, too, probably the same one that it always has been. All the while, I stood faithfully by Jamie like the great friend that I am.

Finally after what seemed like a lifetime, Jamie had found all the stuff she felt she needed and had talked to at least five adults to make sure that it was safe and if she had all the right equipment, and to ask them what would happen if there was a shark, we were up on the platform about to jump into the cool deep sea green water, one of the natural wonders of the world, the only living thing to be seen from space, the great barrier reef, in Australia. Just as I was about to say “three,” she screamed for me to stop: she had “accidentally” grabbed a mask with a hole in it. So I waited for her to go get a new one and come back.

When she finally came she looked more frightened then ever, she was close to tears. Oh great, here goes my millionth pep talk to my fellow people to people student ambassador, I thought, but like I said, I’m a great friend. And of course I wasn’t scared.

“Jamie,” I began, “I know that you’re scared now, and I am too, but when you look back on this it’s going to be one of your best experiences of this trip.”

After she shed a few more tears and tried to talk me out of it, yet again, I started seeing the strong, confident friend that I knew existed. And finally after all of that persuasion and coaxing, Jamie jumped off the platform, and all of my friends, Jamie Twiggs, Erika Cencak, and Megann Vauaghann, were all in the magical water of the Great Barrier Reef.

And of course, afterward, Jamie thanked me.