Before every rapid it is calm, like before a storm. Then the guide tells my family the biggest rapid is coming up. I don’t know what to expect. I’m nervous and excited all at the same time, just like the first time I got to drive. I know it will be exhilarating, but the voice in my head whispers: “I hope I don’t fall out.” I’m too focused on the upcoming rapid to notice anything but our guide’s voice telling us to paddle. He yells, “Forward two!” and I get so caught up that I paddle three times, because I want the rapid to get here faster. I can see the white waters ahead, churning and sending torrents of water in every direction. I can hear the roaring of the rapids hitting rocks and other waves; they are as loud as a rushing waterfall. I grip the smooth plastic T-handled paddle in anticipation. I want to dig into the water with my paddle and hit the rapid as fast as possible. Then that voice in my head tells me to tighten my life jacket, even though it is already squeezing me so tight I can hardly breathe. I synch my helmet tighter, even though it is so thin it wouldn’t stop a linebacker from crushing my skull. When I grab my handle again we are almost to the rapid, the storm has almost begun. This rapid is where our group picture is taken. As we approach, I see the little man standing on a rock on one side of the canyon. He is shorter than the boulder he is standing next to, and holds a camera in front of him so that I cannot see his face. The raft in front of us has reached the rapid as our guide yells, “Paddles up!” My family and I raise our paddles in the air and slap them together for a paddle high five. We drop the high five and slap our paddles on the water as hard as we can. Water splashes up and it sounds like a crack of thunder, as we yell “Boomer!” Then I lean forward, ready to dig into the water with my paddle. “Forward one…forward two!” our guide yells. I lead us in the synchronized paddling of our boat. I cut into the water with my paddle, and dig back as hard as I can. I feel my muscles tighten as I pull through the churning current. Our raft drops forward slightly, but doesn’t dip down far enough for water to come over the edges. Water attacks us from both sides, battering the boat, attempting to rise over the edges. It spills over the front edge of the raft, succeeding in getting inside the boat, but then exits the boat through the holes in the bottom. I continue to paddle with all my might as our guide yells “Forward!” The raft hits the first wave and water crashes over the front of the boat, putting my mother and me slightly in shock as we are splashed with ice cold water. I get a rush of adrenaline from the cold refreshment and dig in again. The raft tilts up as we go over a wave then dives down into the next wave, soaking the entire boat. I scream from the shocking cold, but also from the excitement coursing through my veins. The front of the raft dives back down again, and then
