Remembering an Event Essay

8/12/2019 Remembering an Event Essay

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A Dune of Fear

Every year during Thanksgiving weekend my family goes out to the desert. One year stands

out to me above the others because it involved pain. ain always solidifies the lessons we learn

in life! and this desert trip was no different. "e brought our old! beat#up $tarcraft tent trailer and

parked it in the middle of nowhere. %t looked out of place among the sea of pristine& white motor

homes and trailers 'umbled together across the great e(panse of sand. % didn)t care though. For

me it was simply a hub to be used during the small amount of time % didn)t spend riding *uads

and motorcycles. For me that was the real reason to go to the desert. % was not there to feel

comfort in the confines of an incredibly e(pensive trailer. % was there to e(perience the desert

and let the warm! dry air fill my lungs. +uckily we always went to the desert with my best friend

and his family! and even luckier they had a lot of bikes. %t was what % looked forward to each

year! as my family didn)t own any bikes. ,etting dirty was part of the fun. -y the end of the

day we would have sand everywhere including our clothes! hair and mouths. ,etting sand in

your mouth and having dirty grit between your teeth was the worst.

The bike % loved to ride was a red and blue onda /00. This is a smaller bike. othing like

the raptor 230 my friends rode! or even the onda 400 my friend)s little brother rode! but % loved

that bike none the less. %t was perfect for me. %t was a *uad which meant it had four wheels! as

opposed to a motorcycle which had only two. % have always loved cars and going fast and since

% was too young to drive! this was the way for me to e(perience the thrill of racing. elmets

were a necessity! as any fall no matter how small could be painful.

% had always been a relatively reserved person. % wouldn)t usually take actions that % foresaw

as dangerous or daring in any way. % would do something only if % knew % was fully capable of


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accomplishing it. This meant that when % went riding % would only do the easy trails! the hills %

felt comfortable climbing! and the 'umps % knew % could land. -ecause my friend and his family

had been riding since they were little they were naturally more adept than % was. They would

take the hardest paths and brave the most arduous landscapes around our campsite.

%t was during this camping trip that % decided % was done being fearful of taking risks and the

uncertainty that goes with it. From then on % followed my friend wherever he went. %f he did the

big 'umps! % 'umped too. %f he took a hard trail! % followed. Eventually % got semi comfortable

taking the more difficult and strenuous routes. -ut there was a problem. % got too brash.

%t was the day after Thanksgiving. Everyone had gone out on a ride e(cept me and % had

finally decided! after wrestling with myself for over an hour! to attempt to navigate through a

particularly intricate stretch of land alone. This was a very bad idea. At first % did fine! but as

time progressed the trail got more challenging. Eventually % came to a ravine surrounded by high

walls where the only way out was to climb an immense incline of sand. The dune seemed to

tower over me as its steep walls 'eered at me! daring me to con*uer them. % was scared out of my

mind! yet oddly spurred on by my earlier successes. % had to try it. utting the *uad into second

gear! % started to climb the wash. %t became immediately apparent that % was not going to make it

over the hill. 5y ine(perience coupled with the steepness of the hill and the small engine si6e

made it nigh impossible to crest its insurmountable peaks! but of course % couldn)t stop now.

Ever so slowly the *uad started to lose momentum. The engine roared as it was forced to work

past its limits and then7nothing. "ith a scream of protest the engine died. % was only half way

up the slope.


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All motor bikes are made specifically so that while in gear they can)t role backwards. The

onda /00 was no e(ception. % was safe! or so % thought. 9ust as % was contemplating what %

should do the bike started to roll back down the hill. :onfused and scared % looked around. %t

was then that % noticed! to my horror! the entire wall of sand that % had ridden up was sliding back

down the way % had come. ow % panicked. %n my desperation! % turned the handle bars to the

right in the hopes of getting the bike to face down the slope. This would make it easier to

navigate to the bottom. The *uad only turned halfway around. ow hori6ontal to the slope! the

bike started to tip over. :ompletely fro6en in utter terror % was thrown off the *uad. % then began

a long tumble down the hill. +anding in a crumpled heap at the bottom! % lay da6ed but

otherwise unharmed. As my mind started to clear % suddenly wondered! ;"here is the *uad


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stoking the fire of hope inside me once again. Eventually % heard the truck stop. ;%s the person

going to find me to make any sound that would alert whoever was

out there to my presence! but my mouth was dry to speak. anic arose in me again! but it was

short lived. $till unable to move! % felt someone pulling the *uad off of me! and knew that they

had located me. % was safe. 5y mouth was still too dry! so % said nothing as % was carried to the

truck and wrapped in a blanket.

Twelve stitches! four staples! a week of rest and an emergency room visit later and % was on

the mend. % learned a valuable lesson at the desert that year. -efore that trip! % did not know who

% really was. % tried to do the same trails as my friends because % was trying to be the same as

them. % also learned the value of knowing what my skills are and the limits on them. %t always

seems that we learn life)s lessons best when pain and suffering are involved. This e(perience was

no different. % went to the desert that year unsure of myself and ignorant to my identity as a

person. % left the desert with the knowledge that % was uni*ue. The pain from getting my skull

smashed awakened me to the fact that % was never going to be as good as my friends at riding. %

was content with that. Finally % was comfortable 'ust being me.

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Remembering an Event Essay