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1 3 | Friday A u g u s t 1 1 , 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | w w w .in s id e h a lto n .c o m E v ery w e e k w e s h o w c a se to p ic s a b o u t lo c a l y o u th s. SEN D U S YO UR N EW S: If you are a youth and you have a story or photo to share, we'll do our best to publish it on this page. Email it to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver. com, along with your name and a brief paragraph about why you want to share it with our readers. E d it o r ^ N o te : Katherine Duran, a 12-year-old Oakville girl who is heading into Grade 7, sent this piece of descriptive writing to us. -- "I wrote this in the hopes that people will read it and realize that they should never give up. No matter the trials, no matter the struggles, if we ju st try to best of our abilities and remember that our final destination is the m ost beautiful place imaginable, we will always get where we're going. I believe in this statement and think that it applies to everyone, young, old and in between. I think that the character in my story demonstrates my belief perfectly and I think that it would benefit u s all to learn a lesson from him," said Katherine. b yK a th e rin eD u ra n My lungs ached from breathing too heavily and every m uscle in my body scream ed at me to stop, to lie down, to rest. But I couldn't, I had to m ake it to the top of the mountain, I had to. I forced my legs to fight the strong gusts of wind and continued to trudge up the crumbling mountainside. I slowly lifted my aching neck and caught a glim pse of the rushing waterfall that w as to the right o f my mountain. The waterfall's rapids crashed into the m ountainside and caused the fragile rocks to shake back and forth, m aking me lose my balance. My legs buckled and I fell on the sharp stones beneath me. I clenched my teeth as pain shot through me and freezing waves o f water sprayed my back. I know that I should give up now, but I couldn't, I w as too close to the end. I shakily stood back up and continued to go further and further up. The mountain slope got steeper the higher I went, forcing me to use sm all cracks in the rock as footholds. Ferns and thorns wrapped around my ankles, slowing me down, but not stopping me, never stopping me. My heart started to beat faster and faster and bursts of adrenaline rushed through my body as I realized that I w as only a few steps away from my destination. Even though my legs felt like they were about to fall off, I turned my slow, stum bling w alk into a mighty sprint to the finish. Waves of happiness and relief w ashed over me as I finally, finally reached the m ountains peak and put an end to my long, exhausting journey. I raised my hands in triumphant and slid down into a sitting position atop the moss-covered floor. I sighed as the m oist breeze blew gently across my sweating face and filled my lungs with much needed air. My eyes bulged as I stared at the gorgeous horizon stretched out in front o f me. The sky w as m ostly ink black, but you could still catch sight of tiny streaks of red, orange and yellow. Dark clouds dominated m ost of the night sky, nearly covering up the glowing orb that w as the setting sun. During my treacherous climb, the w ater had been my dangerous enemy, but now I realized that it had actually been a calm friend in disguise. I sm elled the wonderful sea air as it flowed through the breeze and watched as the sun bathed the waterfall in warm light, causing it to shimmer in its somewhat dim surroundings. My lim bs relaxed as I changed my position and lied down am ong the sm ooth stones, soft m oss and tall, towering ferns. I closed my eyes, overjoyed that I could finally rest. As I drifted off to sleep, I shut out the rest of the world until all that remained w as the soft patter of the waves, banging against the mountain that I had conquered. Nevergive up H AXELL LAW 1 B uying? Selling? R e-financing? Call us for a quote at Ja m e s o n G las 9 0 5 -8 4 5 -0 7 6 7 e x t. 2 2 3 trody« C a m p in g T e n t $ 7 0 cally llif (^ f |||f Visit www.Tradyo.com B AppStore I ^G o o g tp )^ 1276 Cornwall Road, Unit C, Oakville Ontario, L6J 7W5 T:905 -845-0767 · F:905 -845-5552 · www.haxelllaw.com · lawyers@haxelllaw.com Buy a n d sell in y o u r n e ig h b o u rh o o d . traau©