Little Inklings 2024

FEARS TO REALITIES By: Tova Katz ’28 Gianna peered out the window of the car. The snowflakes fell softly from the sky upon the white-capped mountains. This was the perfect day to snowboard. The car came to a stop, and she hopped out. Gianna unloaded the back of the truck and met with her friends. “Hey Gi!” called Evelyn. She was seated at a small table with the other four of her best friends. “Hi guys,” Gianna sat down and began to buckle up her black snowboarding boots. “We have a surprise,” Evelyn said with a smile. She pulled out a small box from her pink purse and handed it to Gianna. “Open it!” Evelyn exclaimed. Gianna began pulling off the pink ribbon around the small rectangular box. She opened it and read the small ticket inside. It read: Gianna Williams, Seat D5 (Hawaii) May 17th, 2019 Gianna looked up in shock as the girls screamed, “Surprise!” Gianna hugged themand asked, “What will we be doing inHawaii?” Isabelle excitedly replied, “Surfing. It won’t be too difficult for you because you are already so amazing at snowboarding.” Gianna’s smile faded as she remembered the horrors from when she was younger. Around the age of 10, Gianna went on a family vacation to the Bahamas. As she was playing in the ocean, she got bitten by a shark and had to be rushed to a local hospital. Ever since then, she has been extremely afraid of swimming, or even coming in contact with the ocean. At this moment, Gianna knew she had to face her fears so she could go with her friends. The day arrived and the girls all boarded the plane. “I can’t wait to get a mango smoothie when we land,” Isabelle said. Gianna sat down in the aisle seat and the fears came like bullets through clouds. She calmed herself down and realized that her fears do not define her and that she needed to move forward. She took a deep breath and the plane took off. A fewhours later, the girls had settled into their hotel rooms. Gianna looked around and everyone was ready with bikinis, sunscreen, and surfboards. She got ready and went with them. “Let’s get in the water!” Evelyn laughed as she ran to the ocean. The rest followed and Gianna hesitated but remembered, my fears can’t hold me back. She ran into the ocean and had a fun time surfing and lying in the sun. 44