ESSAY

 

Name: Duckboy

DATE: Monday November 28th, 2011

TEACHER: Ms. Babb

 
TEEN RANCH

   Beams of light streamed through the long branches in the deep forest, and my feet crunched as they hit the leaf infested ground. But the light crunching sounds soon became squishing. "Aww, man, that's the third time I've stepped on a turd today!" I announced, staring at the thick brown substance coating my shoe like chocolate icing on a cupcake. But that was only the most annoying part of my trip at Teen Ranch, a camp erupting with completely positive surprises, from unicorns grazing in a grass-abundant field, to a humongous ice rink. This extraordinary camp is definitely the place to be.

As I stared solemnly at the abundant slop that lay motionless on my plate, I wondered just then when it would escape its lifeless stage and transform into a monstrous being, attacking me and swallowing my form. Well, I guess that's exaggerating the meals at Teen Ranch, just a little… The entrees were nothing to rave about, but I don't blame the cooks. If you had 500 mouths to feed, you'd try to make something quick, too. And no, the food didn't turn into a monster- if it did, that would be the best day of my life. Large servings were presented to each student, allowing us to stuff ourselves fat. The cookies turned out to be amazing, though- as gigantic as they were, they still brought out luscious flavour that attacked my taste buds and left them with a chocolaty aftertaste that was absolutely amazing. Otherwise, the rest of the desserts were amazing, and so was the food altogether.

   The sudden knocking on the cabin window sent me hurtling to the floor. The sound was frequent, but evilly toned. As it occurred, I was writing on the window, pictures in the condensation, and I saw the inhuman hand smashing against the glass, causing me to fly back, right onto the floor. Then the door creaked open, and the creature came in- Mr. Leitmann! Hey, what did you think it was going to be, an alien? Yeah, I know, it would be so much cooler if it was extraterrestrial. True story, by the way. It all happened in our cabin- more like a cottage, to me, for it was huge, with carpeted floors, eight black- painted beds, and a pretty nice washroom, or, at least, until certain people were done with it (don't worry, it wasn't me). I shared my cabin with Nick P., Nick Y., Kyle, Justin L., and Ethan- the best cabin ever, especially with me in it. We didn't spend much time in our cabin, but it still seemed to me as the epitome of epic.

   My breath spurted out in wisps of steam, and the only sound echoing across the high walls was the scraping of metal against the cold, bare ice. The rink put "Olympic- sized" in Olympic- sized ice rink. It was so awesome- huge, with scratch free ice and long benches, just like a real hockey rink, though it irked me that we couldn't play hockey. So I pretty much spent my time skating around the rink and stopping in front of people, snow coating them and drenching their clothes. The experience was radical; definitely the best part of the trip.

   The sky darkened, and stars erupted into the enormous atmosphere, shining brightly in the night, as the moon gave off an impressive fluorescent glow, and the nocturnal animals all sprung to life, and so did the people of the camp. It's amazing what can be squashed into 3 nights, from the movie night to the bonfire, but at the ranch, they managed it quite well. The first night, movie night, was, well, a movie night. We saw The Karate Kid,  and our cabin got a pretty sweet deal- front row seats, despite the fact that we didn't get any chairs, for they were all taken. Next came the karaoke/ dance night. It was pretty good, although humiliating- the dance moves given were… how do I put it? Interesting. The last night was the best. A two-in-one experience, it contained a bonfire and a dance. The bonfire was epic- a huge fire, with marshmallows to cook, and I almost burned my pants off, literally. About an hour later, we continued to the basement of the dining hall, where we proceeded with the dance, where I got to show off my amazing dance skills. In a nutshell, the trip was amazing, the night life being a big part of it.

   Teen Ranch was ultimately incredible, a once-in-a lifetime experience. It included great food, followed by marvellous activities, such as skating, with completely liveable cabins, and the night life as fortified with fun as the rest of the trip. I'm sure everyone agreed that it was a shame to have to leave.