Life is all about experiences

This project is based on my experiences in a written paragraph that I eventually turned into a SWAY presentation. 

My favourite place – Life is all about experiences essay. 

Stomping down the noisy cabin steps, arms linked with my best friends. Walking, past the long building, known as home for the week, then down the grassy hill and through the trees to our summer lake. Cowichan lake. This lake is so tremendously vast that when you look to the left and to the right it seems endless. The only signs of civilization are the fancy but quiet lake houses directly across. There brick walls and fancy porches keep us at a distant and the feeling of having the whole lake to ourselves is there. Tiny motor boats make the turquoise blue water slowly still, silently hit the shore with its small waves. The wind blows my hair around, like a fan, keeping me cool as the thick rocky sand seeps onto my feet through the straps of my flimsy flip flops. Breathing in the scent of muddy waves. The campers join us huddled on the benches and tables that surround the fire pit. The pit cannot be filled with fire due to laws however the people here are like a fire, warm enough to heat up a place and make the icy cold feeling sparse. Burnt marshmallows and melted chocolate fill the air. S’mores made in the oven mask the fresh dirt scent the lake holds. The tray passed around, the smell wafting. Eagerness permeates the group. The crunch of the graham cracker mixed in with the fluffiness of the marshmallow and sweetness of chocolate leaves me comforted and at home with every bite. Enjoyment pervades the atmosphere. It is decided that nothing has ever tasted this incredible. Cheery and cheesy campfire songs ring through the evening, joy radiates, as the songs are chanted. It reminds me of a kindergarten class, where the sillier you are the more fun you seem. The thumping of dancing on the tables, claps, and cheers echo the lake. Right in my view is the sun, setting. Turquoise blue waves meet the shore silently as cotton candy pinks, blinding yellows and lighting oranges fill the sky in the most striking way inviting you into its show. The vivid orange, yellows blues and pinks create the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Heads turn and the chatter dies only for a moment but the moment is there and we all take it in. The moment is unity like one single breath we are all breathing in the sunset. Then the chit-chat and excitement take over the night again. The spectacle in my view becomes darker and brighter all at the same time, the contrast of colours is breathtaking. Everyone is talking over each other and at the same time, like a dozen buzzing bees in your ear, and the atmosphere incredibly overwhelming. Someone takes out a small brown ukulele and calms the crowd down. The strumming of ukulele strings begin to sound across the campfire resulting in the singing of all of the campers. Everyone is singing together and the sound warms my heart. Two councillors decide to go canoeing for fun. The strokes of the paddles make sounds like a peaceful fountain on a warm sunny day, then abruptly a splash fills the night as the bright orange canoe is flipped over. As they fall into the freezing cold lake everyone laughs and hollers. The sun is almost gone as we run back up the rocky beach, back through the trees up the grassy hill. It’s chilly but the energy of it all has cloaked that feeling of being cold. The sun has set, like the beauty in new beginnings, because instead of a black sky, we see stars, so many stars. Every inch of the night sky is a new constellation and the sky is lit up. Even though the sun has set it is never dark at camp. We lay there on the grassy hill.  The wet grass tickling my legs and arms. I know it is probably getting in my hair but I just lay there.  A thousand stars ample the dark blue sky and it just looks so unreal like we are living in a virtual reality.  I never thought anything could be and look so perfect in real life.”It’s beautiful” we agree. It is so bright it does not feel like the night. Looking up at the night sky I walk the whole way back to my home for the week staring at the stars just to be sure that they are real. The lights in the sky are like a flashlight guiding me to my destination. Up the noisy cabin steps, through the wooden door into my room. It is time for lights out, but we know we are never in the dark as the starry night lights shine and the fire burning inside the hearts of all the campers is enough to light up the night.