Skipping rocks and other life lessons by Josie

Skipping rocks and other life lessons by Josie - February 2017 Scholarship Essay

Watching my dad skip polished, slate stones over the glass-like water always fascinated me. A novice stone-skipper, I would always try to skip the most rigid, bulky rocks. Furiously leering at the lake, I threw stone after stone, each sinking into the liquid glass without a single skip. My little heart ceased to let go of my rhythmic failures, but clung to the idea that maybe the next rock would be the one. “You’ll get it,” was the encouragement my father provided through my chronicle of defeat. Soon, I realized that my big, bulky rocks did not have the capability to skip across the water. I skipped and skipped until my little fingers were raw, but I did not stop until my stones flew atop the water. Through many trials and more errors, I learned only certain flat rocks can skip over water. To me, the rocks were defying gravity, defying the basic principle that stones sink.
Whether I ran to the water to search for lake diamonds, or plopped my hedgehog in my bike basket to explore the wooden fortress of pine trees, each day brought a new adventure, a new curiosity to satisfy. How long can I stand under this icicle, catching water droplets in my mouth, before my dad catches me? How high can I climb? Why won’t my rock skip?
My environment invited me to be curious. My childhood adventures were the definition of trial and error, hypothesis and resolve, cause and effect. Skipping stones and climbing trees with my hedgehog were just a few of the many things that shaped the way I think and act. My initial environment influenced me to push for questions and find my own answers. To succeed, one must try. Sometimes, failure becomes necessary, like in my quest to skip stones, but wisdom evolves from the lessons gleaned from failure. I’ve struggled with more than just the pitfalls of my adolescence,but in my studies, in my sports, and in my life. These trials of my childhood have taught me to persevere. My childhood in Minnesota not only taught me to skip rocks, climb trees, and care for my hedgehog, but it also allowed me to gain two invaluable traits, ones I believe define my character: the curiosity to try and the wisdom to learn from my failures.