The most exciting point in my summer of 2005 was when I got up on water skis.  A memory and accomplishment that means a lot to me even to this day.  Another compelling reason as to why I am writing about water skiing is because it is a long tradition in my family that dates back 4 generations.  My mother was a water skier, my grandfather, his father and his father all water skied from our family lake house in Webster, MA.

Growing up near Webster Lake and having access to my grandparent’s boat and the water allowed me to try this sport at a young age.  Other important things that gave me the confidence to try water skiing for the first time were the amount of cousins that are my age.  Watching some of my cousins try and fail and try and then succeed helped me get over some of my fears and also gave me the confidence to try it.  I remember saying to my grandmother, “I don’t think I can do this.” and she looked back at me with great confidence, “I really think you can do it. You just need to push yourself up a little more.”  The rest is history.

My first time trying to water ski was on a quiet summer morning on the calm and crystal lake.  I woke up with one mission and that was to get up and be a water skier against all odds.  My grandmother and the boat were ready for me and all of my family members routing for me.  I felt like a lead singer of a band taking the stage for the first time. All lights were on me and it was now my turn to put my mind to it and accomplish my goal to be a water skier.  As I entered the water, my favorite uncle (Brian) was waiting to help me get situated and ready to go.  I was wet, balanced, focused and ready to give my grandmother the “go” signal to pull me out of the water. 

With a firm “go” command, my grandmother throttled the boat, and my cousins cheered me on. On the water, I had no idea what was going to happen.  Toward the island I went, which only meant one thing, I was riding on top of the water on water skis, which gives a really weird sensation. I realized that I overcame my fears, tried to water ski and got up on my first try. From the window, my Aunt Kara said it looked like I was a pro. I remember as soon as I had that feeling of success and accomplishment, I was under the water flipping and flopping around.  According to my cousins, I was up skiing all by myself for exactly 34 seconds.  To me, it felt like 34 hours. 

In conclusion, I learned that it helps to overcome your fears when you have great people supporting you but the most important part is that you have the confidence going in to trying something new.  I also learned that when you succeed at something new don’t take breath of relief too soon because you may just fall down and need to get right back up and try again.  Stay focused, committed and continue to try new things.  Some will succeed and some will fail but at least you tried.