An Important Event In My Life - Essay Example

An Important Event In My Life When it comes to unwinding, many people usually prefer relaxing on beaches, spending time in expensive hotels, enjoying expensive services provided by travel companies, eating at top city restaurants amongst other costly adventures. Conversely, my friends and I prefer visiting wild places. Considering that we are used to the city life, dogged with heavy traffic, noise and polluted air, union with nature seemed to us the most enjoyable way to chill out. On our last vacation we chose a place called Blue Lakes which is famous for its wildlife. I was extremely excited when the time finally came and I saw myself getting prepared for the much anticipated trip. Indeed, the adventure is still very vivid in my mind. When all of us geared up, we loaded all our belongings in our travel car and took the road. It was summer and the forest was particularly gorgeous. Mushrooms and berries were all over the place. The mind-boggling silence was at times interrupted by birds singing and insects cricking. The amazing lake situated all over the wood was magnificent. Additionally, the Mother Nature gave the lake a unique appearance. Red lake, for instance, had red water seemingly due to iodine content. Cold lake had very low temperature despite the high temperature associated with summer season. When I dipped my foot in it, I shivered from its chilliness. Further, the most impressive was the dead lake: it seemed to boil due to the phosphorous content. This particular lake was always under fog with several levels making it looks like a labyrinth under water. It looked mysterious and untouchable at the same time. We had set our camp near the lake and it was extremely stunning. Around the place, all people found themselves swimming, fishing or playing games. At times, we left two people to keep an eye on the camp while going to other interesting places. Occasionally, we took a walk deep inside the park. Once, we came across a river which had such a strong current so that no one could swim it cross. As mentioned before, the place was wild and there were no bridges. All in all, we improvised a makeup bridge using two logs which crossed the river connecting the two banks. The majority of my colleagues managed to cross the river without fear. When it came my turn, the fear thrilled down my spine. I am not a good swimmer; therefore, it was a nightmare for me. I tried to encourage myself thinking: “I can do it as well.” My legs started trembling, but I took under control the situation. As I watched my steps, I could see the strong current underneath, yet I kept thinking: “a few more steps and I will be on the other side.” Regrettably, by the time I was half way, the log suddenly slipped over losing balance and falling into the river. Immediately, I got drenched to the bone as thousands of bubbles pushed my body downstream. As I got carried away by the strong current, I almost got drowned to death. I tried to wave my colleagues desperately while at the same time struggling to swim. Unfortunately, the strong current quickly carried me down the stream. My head remained dry despite all the waters around me. I cried profusely as my pulse rate increased. By chance, I grabbed a branch of bamboo tree which was growing next to the river. My friends, who were also panicking, hurriedly threw me a rope that I grabbed and managed to pull me out. I felt too tired and dizzy, I coughed uncontrollably, but thank God I felt the ground under my foot once again. We relaxed a bit, then resumed to our camp. At the camp, everyone forgot what I had gone through. Whenever one of us tried to recount the story, we just made fun of it, though it was not funny to me. I could not believe that I underwent such a horrible experience for I did not want to appear like a coward to my friends. As I recollect what happened to me, I keep wondering what could have happened to me was it not for the branch that I managed to seize. One minute I was happy and then I was undergoing an encounter that almost cost my dear life. After that incident, I obtained fear not only for water, but also experienced pain and loss due to my impulsiveness and thoughtlessness. That experience made me more careful and mature. I am happy now and always let know my conscience: “Watch out!” Lipogram: Writing excluding letters B, J, K, Q, V and Z When it comes to unwinding, many people usually prefer to relax alongside the ocean, spending in costly hotels and tour companies, and eating at top city restaurants amongst other costly experiences. Instead, my friends and I prefer to explore wild places different from the usual city life, dogged with chronic traffic, noise and polluted air. Union with nature seems to us the most satisfying way to chill out. Last holiday, we chose one of the famous places with wildlife. I still recall it as if it happened yesterday. It was summer and the forest was extremely exciting. The water pool situated at the midst of the forest was so wonderful. Additionally, the motherly nature made the pool so special. Red water pool, for instance, had red water seemingly due to iodine content. Cold water pool had low temperatures, despite the hotness associated with summer. Further, the most exciting was the dead water pool – it seemed too hot due to the phosphorous content. This particular pool had been always under fog with many layers. Our camp was set next to the water pool and it was extremely convenient. Each of us was swimming, fishing or playing games. At times, we left two people to guard our camp as we explored other interesting places. During the outdoor trips, we had to cross a deep stream. All my friends crossed without fear, though, upon my turn, I tried to conceal my fear. As I continued I thought to myself: “I will manage.” As I watched my steps, I could see the strong currents underneath. Unfortunately, when I was half way, the log slid letting me into the stream. Immediately, I got wet as the strong current pushed me downstream. As I was drowning, I unwillingly inhaled water. I tried desperately to pull the attention of my colleagues while at the same time struggling to swim, though the strong current hurriedly carried me down the stream. I got worried as my pulse rate rose. Fortunately, I held a twig that was hanging towards the stream. My friends, who were also worried, hurriedly threw me a rope that I cringed on to it as they struggled to pull me out. I felt too tired and was coughing. We relaxed for a while and had to cut short our trip and return to our camp. While at the camp, all my colleagues had forgotten the experience I had gone through and when someone mentioned the episode, no one paid much attention to it. One minute I was happy and the other minute I could possibly die. After that incident, I was fearful for water and also experienced loss and pain due to my thoughtlessness. That experience made me more careful and mature. I am happy now and always think to myself: “Watch out!” Introduction A lipogram applied in this essay is a kind of literature construction that deliberately excludes one or more letters in an alphabet (Heathfield 140). It is, therefore, a broad type of label where the technique of excluding letters can be used in many ways. Though the practice of creating lipograms dates back to 19th century, many authors began to experiment how exclusion of certain letters would affect writing without significantly altering the initial meaning in 20th century. As a writer, use of this technique required from me to search for various words that fit the designated meaning without compromising the letter omission strategy (Heathfield 140). The process, as I may say, was a bit tricky as it was not very easy to find alternative words to replace others bearing the excluded letters. Also, avoiding some letter from the whole -rewritten essay proved to be a daunting task as I kept re-reading it several times only to find the excluded letters are still featuring. Notably, the process called for maximum attention to ensure that the excluded letters are all avoided which was achieved through re-phrasing the concerned sentences or finding other appropriate words to replace the ones bearing the excluded letters. However, after all these efforts, I came to appreciate this writing craft as a fun as I did manage to re-write the same essay, but this time avoiding some letters. Through this process, I was forced to do a summary of some paragraphs thereby shortening them. Though my aim is to acquire expertise in lipogramatic writing, I also found it interesting and captivating. At first, I had a perception that writing lipograms is a difficult and daunting task, but I ultimately realized that a lipogram is a kind of wordplay that gives a person an opportunity to jungle around with the language, making it more enjoyable. Stripping paragraphs of particular letters without altering the meaning can be viewed as an interesting experience. After struggling and finally acquiring a knack for lipogram composition, it is no longer that hard and I have found it more instrumental in my non-lipogrammatic writing. Not to forget, I had to constantly consult the dictionary and my handbook with synonyms for words. Despite spending many hours searching for alternative words to replace common words for ordinary items, I came to appreciate the fact that this had potential of aiding in development of socialization skills. Sadly, a number of critics find lipograms being ugly, ridiculous or worthless. Such an argument fails to make sense as such for people only restrain their language to the ordinary ways of writing. To me, this experience of constraining my thought and writing in lipogramatic language is useful in developing distinct lines of thought and instilling linguistic skills. All in all, lipogram has improved my creativity in writing, particularly paraphrasing. As I was struggling to write alternative words, which did not contain the excluded letters, while at the same time maintaining the original meaning of the sentences, I developed some critical writing skills. I mean I can be able to rewrite another author’s ideas in my own words and without altering the meaning. Works Cited Heathfield, Susan. (2004) “Change, Change, Change.” A guide to creative writing. 42.4: 135- 143. Print. Read More