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Reflective Essay: My Favorite Holiday Memory
I’ve had many wonderful holidays, but my favorite memory is that of a few summer weeks spent in Italy when I was about 13. My mom had to go to a clinic there for treatment (nothing severe or worrisome in any way, thankfully), and we all went together as a family and took the opportunity to have a beautiful vacation as well. Why this is my favorite holiday memory is because, besides the fact that it was the first time abroad for me, it was a vacation that has broadened my perspective, taught me a lot, and helped shape a bit of who I am today.
Although we did visit many famous places in northern Italy, we stayed mostly in a little town where some friends of my parents lived. While all the renowned attractions in the country were, indeed, marvelous, nothing immersed me in the Italian culture and nothing helped me understand the locals’ Latin spirit better than my stay in this picturesque, almost magical town that many haven’t even heard of.
At 13, I was quite a shallow girl who was interested mostly in having fun with the girls – and not much else. Thanks to the holiday spent in Italy, I also discovered my passion for music, which stayed alive in me to this day and will probably stay forever. My parents’ friends had a son, Ricardo, who was a pianist. While dad had repeatedly but unsuccessfully tried to make me study an instrument (and stick to it), when I heard Ricardo play, I instantly fell in love with music and felt a great desire to learn it. Ricardo taught me the first song I ever played on the piano, a silly, playful little tune that I still know by heart. Oh, and he was my first crush, too.
Another reason why I will never forget my holiday in Italy is the short trip we took to the Italian Alps at some point. I had never seen such majestic beauty before! The snow-covered peaks, the intimidating rocks, the fresh, harsh air – what an experience! And what I remember impressed me the most was the fact that, although this was a popular touristic area, the region was incredibly clean, still “natural”, with places that seemed to never have been touched by humans. Then, the shallow teen that I was learned what a real treasure nature is and how important it is to protect it.
Finally, there’s one peculiar memory from this vacation that stuck with me for reasons that I can’t say I grasp. It’s a pineapple & cheese sandwich that they sold at the clinic my mom went to for treatment. What a simple and ingenious mix of flavors – a sheer joy for the taste buds! I think it was the first time I tasted a mix of “regular food” and exotic fruit all in one, and I believe this is what triggered in me the pleasure I know have for experimenting with flavors in my cooking and coming up with unusual dishes. Looking back on it, this simple sandwich can also be a good metaphor for how you shouldn’t overcomplicate things in life – sometimes, the simplest solution and a bit of flair or courage can bring astonishing results.
My trip to Italy helped me understand more about other cultures, allowed me to find my passion (and let’s not forget about my first crush), taught me to cherish nature and do my best to protect it, and – maybe – inspired in me the courage to experiment (or, at least, it gave me the opportunity to discover that I adore pineapple & cheese sandwiches). This is why it is my favorite holiday memory.
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- Short Story
The Holiday I Will Never Forget
- April Nairn, Grade 7
It was Early December and my family and I were on a Christmas vacation in Europe. I loved to skate at the many lakes and rivers, frozen by the intense coldness; I had left our cabin one evening just before dusk, taking only my great grandfathers pocket knife from the Irish Revolutionary war. With the intention of skating at the lake about a long 20 minute trek through the icy wet snow down by the snow covered hill side. The night was clear with only the light of the full moon and thousands of stars, as my eyes followed for miles. And yet all was still all but a baby nut cracker chick trying to make its way to some place warmer then here. The cold seemed to have frozen the trees, air, water, and every living thing it around me. It was probably below -20 degrees. Even the slice of my skates hitting the wet ice echoed back from the hill side. I had gone up the river nearly two miles, when, coming to a little stream which flows into the larger lake, I turned into it to explore it. A century's growth meant overhead it had formed an archway. All was dark within but I was young and fearless, and I laughed and shouted with excitement and joy. As I stood listening to the echoes of my voice until all was quiet. Suddenly a sound aroused it seemed to have come from beneath the ice but all that was under the frozen water was a fish frozen from the weather around me. It wasn't very loud at first, but it ended in one long wild howl. Never before had I heard such a sound. The blood rushed to my forehead I looked around me for some means of escape .The moon shone through the opening of the creek which was where I had entered the forest; and, considering this was the best way of escape. I darted toward to it like an arrow. It was hardly a hundred yards distant yet, as I turned my eyes I could see several dark objects dashing through the trees and bushes at a pace nearly double in speed to mine. By their great speed, and the short growls which they occasionally gave, I knew at once that these were the dreadful gravy wolves, which I had heard of in stories that my father had told me as a young child. As I dashed through the many bushes and trees to pass the narrow opening. A few seconds more and I would be comparatively safe. But in a moment my pursuers appeared on the bank above me, which here rose to the height of ten or twelve feet. There was no time for thought. I bent my head, and dashed wildly forward. The wolves sprang forward, but, miscalculating my speed, they fell behind, as I glided out upon the river! I turned towards the hill where the cabin stood. The light flakes of snow spun from the iron of my skates, and I was some distance from my pursuers, when their fierce howl told me they were still in hot pursuit. I did not look back not for even a second. I knew if I did I would die a horrible death. I did not feel afraid, or sorry, or glad; one thought of home, of the bright faces awaiting my return, and of their tears if they never should see me, and then all the energies in my body and mind were exerted for escape. I was perfectly at home on the ice. Many were the days that I had spent on my good skates, never thinking that they would one day prove my only means of safety. Every half-minute a furious yelp from my fierce opponents made me too certain that they were in close pursuit. Nearer and nearer they came. At last I heard their feet pattering on the slipper ice; I even felt their very breath, and smelt their snuffing scent! Every nerve and muscle in my body was strained frozen the only thing going through my mind was my next breath. The trees along the stream seemed to twinkle in an uncertain light. The wolves hissed for their breath, when all at once I turned out of my course. The wolves close behind, unable to stop, and as unable to turn on smooth ice, slipped and fell, still going on far ahead. Their tongues were hanging out, their white tusks were gleaming from their bloody mouths as they passed me their eyes glared, and they howled with fury. The thought flashed through my mind that by turning aside whenever they came too near I might avoid them, they are unable to run on ice except in a straight line. I immediately acted upon this plan, but the wolves having regained their feet sprang directly towards me. The race was renewed for twenty yards up the stream; they were almost close at my back, when I glided round and dashed directly past them. A fierce yell greeted me, with the wolves slipping on their paws. Again I slid onward, presenting a perfect picture of helplessness and disappointed rage. Although I gained nearly a hundred yards at each turn. This was repeated two or three times, the baffled animals becoming every moment more and more excited. At one time, by delaying my turning too long, my bloodthirsty antagonists came so near that they threw their white foam over my coat as they sprang to seize me, and their teeth clashed together like the spring of a fox-trap. Had my skates failed for one instant, had I tripped on a stick, or had my foot been caught in a fissure, the story I am now telling would never have been told thought over all the chances. I knew where they would first seize me if I fell. I thought how long it would be before I died, and then of the search for my body for oh, how fast man's mind traces out all the dreadful colours of death's picture. At last I came opposite the cabin, and my snow hounds, I knew their deep voices roused by the noise, bayed furiously from their kennels. I heard their chains rattle. How I had wished they would break them! Then I should have had protectors to match the cruel dwellers of the evil forest. The wolves, taking the hint conveyed by the dogs, stopped in their mad career, and after a few moments turned and fled .I watched them until their forms disappeared over a neighboring hill, then let out a sigh of relieve that witch I needed. Taking off my skates my numb freezing feet, shriving my way to the cabin with feelings which may be better imagined than described. But even yet I never will see another broad sheet of ice by moonlight without thinking of that snuffing breath, and those ferocious beasts that followed me so closely down that frozen river. This defiantly is one adventure I will keep with me for a life time.
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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Moment — A Memory That I Will Never Forget
A Memory that I Will Never Forget
- Categories: Moment Personal Life
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Words: 625 |
Published: Sep 16, 2023
Words: 625 | Page: 1 | 4 min read
Table of contents
The setting, the journey, the encounter.
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Home / Essay Samples / Life / Self Reflection / Something I Will Never Forget
Something I Will Never Forget
- Category: Life
- Topic: Moment , Self Reflection
Pages: 1 (510 words)
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Introduction
The fear of heights, the leap of faith, lessons learned.
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