My parents made a habit of taking my sister, Holland and I on vacations when we were younger. This became an annual ritual for my family. Every summer we would pack our bags, which always seem to include a bathing suit and some collection of care games. My father insisted on driving everywhere. We could have been going to northern Canada and all dad would care about is that Holland and I had enough toys and games to entertain us. Naturally Holland and I would get bored and annoy our parents, which was then followed by dad making the threat pulling the car over. He never did.

The summer of 1986, which would put me at the age of eight, we headed off for New Braunfels, Texas. I did not even know how to pronounce New Braunfels much less know where it was. The car ride only ended up being about eight hours from Dallas, which to an eight year old is about four days. We rode in my dad’s silver and navy blue Ford Bronco, with the back seat covered in snack foods and toys. Holland and I would take turns being able to lie down and sleep on the seat if we wanted to take a nap, while the other person got the floor. For some reason, my turns only lasted about fifteen minutes and then I was back on the floor sleeping next to crumbs of Cheetos and black jellybeans. We hated the black ones. I am still confused on why the jellybean company insists on making that flavor.

We stayed in a motel that smelled like a combination of sweaty socks and mildew. I was glad we were only going to be there for three days. We always planned some main even for the vacation and the rest of our activities revolved around this one. Many of my memories from this vacation are slightly blurred because my mind tends to focus on one afternoon. The afternoon that I almost lost my life.

Mom and dad told us we were going to float down the Guadalupe River in tubes that afternoon. I was excited, mainly because Holland was, but I really had no idea what floating down a river in a tube entailed. If Holland was excited, then it had to be fun. Mom packed peanut butter and honey sandwiches for us all, mine with extra peanut butter, and we were set for the river. I wore a pink bathing suit that was about two sizes too small, partially cutting off the circulation to my legs.

Each person received a black rubber inner tube that we would use for the river. We had to walk awhile to get to the river, but luckily I did not have to carry my tube considering it was the same size as I was. Finally, I saw it. The river looked like a skinny wave pool and I was ready to go. This excitement took over my body as I imagined myself zooming down the river on my tube. I was going to be the captain of my own ship and maneuver it through the towering rapids. An adventure was definitely ahead of me.

It was time to get into the river. When I sat down on my tube, the rubber was so hot it burned my legs, as if I was on top of a toaster oven that had been heating. The water was the temperature of a forgotten bath and gave me chills when it touched my skin. I was the first one in the water and my family followed. My parents were already scolding me for leaving their side. I just wanted to have fun.

The water was low that year, so the speed of the river was quick and the rapids large. For me, this meant more excitement. I noticed the empty Coke cans floating along the edges and the plastic grocery bags that were hung like decoration in the bushes on the banks. All I could see when I looked up was a ceiling of branches and crispy leaves. Nature was dead still, yet the river was pulling me deeper into my adventure. Throughout the float trip we would come across signs directing us in the correct direction. As long as I was going down the river and I could still see my parents, I would be fine.

There were many sections where the river picked up speed and sent me shooting through the rapids as if I weighed nothing. My limbs would flail about and my fingers turned white from holding on so tightly. I loved being thrown around as if the water was playing a game of catch with my body. After I bounced through the chaotic water, peace would then take over as the water slowed.

I finally came to a part of the river that would give me a fight. At this point, Holland and I wanted a challenge and there happened to be another rough portion coming again. We looked ahead and saw this gigantic tree sprouting from the dead center of the river. Next to The Tree, a sign read, "Stay right of Tree." My plan was to have the most exciting journey possible, so I headed left. Why would I want to stay to the right when the larger rapids were to the left? I covered up my plan by enticing Holland to goof around with me so we could "accidentally" get off track.

There was a reason people went to the right.

The rapids picked up and the water slapped my chubby legs harder than it had before. My head began violently hitting the back of my tube and I could no longer see where I was going for more than a brief second. I knew The Tree was getting closer, but I did not realize it was right in front of me. The rapids increased exponentially while my control decreased. It then decreased completely. I had been flipped off my tube and The Tree had total control. I was caught under the enormous roots and could not escape, like a butterfly in a spider’s web. Only my web was under water, and so was I.

I began contorting my body in every direction so I could grasp air, yet nothing was working. I was panicking. My legs were kicking for freedom, but they could not kick hard enough. My tears were being washed away by the rapids and I felt my body getting weaker. The muscles in my toes were even cramping. The arms of The Tree imprisoned me, the speedy water was thrashing me in every direction, and my life was being taken away from me. I was drowning.

Fear completely captivated my body and I thought I was going to die. Everything was speeding through my mind so fast that I could not acknowledge even one thought. I do not know if I was thinking about how to escape, my family, why people were not helping me, or if I should just give up the fight.

My eyes were not focusing until I saw my sister’s face above mine. I think she was trying to help me the whole time, but I was too disoriented to even realize she was there. She was pulling both the root and me, trying to find any means to help me. Still, nothing was working.

All of a sudden, my entire body went numb. Not a tingling feeling, but a soothing sensation was injected into my body. The feeling began at my head and mind and slowly worked it’s way through my entire body. I felt as if my mother was holding me after waking up from a nightmare. My mind cleared and I became peaceful. The kicking stopped. The contorting stopped. The panicking stopped. I stopped.

My visions became extremely clear and I could see that my sister had been screaming and crying to others for their help. I remember looking up at her terrified face thinking, "Don’t cry Holland. Everything is going to be fine. I’m going to be fine." The voice was mine, but I felt as if someone else was talking through me saying those words. The look of panic on her face made me sad and all I wanted to do was embrace her so I could calm her down. I was no longer focused on myself, and all I could think about was how much pain my sister was feeling. I was not ready to leave her.

Immediately after I thought that, my vision was leaving me. Dark spots started appearing as if someone was taking an eraser and removing my sight in sections. Once the spots stopped emerging, the rest of my view began to disappear and I was loosing my sister’s face. Just as the last part of my sight was blackening, I saw I bright white light. When I saw the light, I felt chills throughout my body and the peace inside of me grew even stronger. The whiteness was only a flash, and then I found myself above water. I coughed a little and was breathing heavily, but the peace remained with me. At this point, my entire family was holding me and there were people who had stopped to see what was happening.

To this day I do not know how I got untangled from The Tree and reached the surface before my lungs filled with water. My family does not talk about the incident very much, preferring to put the entire episode behind them. Holland still will not get into a river.

Sometimes I actually forget that I had a near-death experience, but the memories of that afternoon are very much alive within me. Some people say I saw a white light because I was starting to pass out, but was rescued right before I did. Others believe that I was on my way to heaven and God decided it was not yet my time. All I really know is that I am breathing to this day, and the only reason I am still here is because a miracle was given to me the summer of 1986.

The process of creating this article came somewhat natural to me. In order for me to decide on a story that I wanted to do and that would attract an audience, I thought about stories that I have told over and over again. Then, I thought about stories that I don’t tell often and this one came to mind. When I began writing, I just sat down and typed, which worked for this article. The other three I had to prepare much more and write outlines for each of them, but I was willing to let them take turns throughout the article.

The revision of this article was not that difficult, but I could tell it was easy because time had passes. Going back to my article three months later opened new options on where I was taking my audience with this piece. I knew much more about audience in general and knew that this article must be geared to a specific one. I really just wanted to tell a story that would grab people’s attention and draw them into the article, which hopefully I have done. I wanted to recreate the liveliness that an eight year old obtains, without losing the descriptiveness that the story needs.

Overall, this was my favorite piece and the most enjoyable to write. I like telling stories, and this is what I did. I told a story about what happened to me and let the reader decide if this should be important or not. Either way, if a person is at the end wondering what the point of the story was, all I can say is that they are at the end and read it.