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Janet Tran Mrs. Anthony English 181-2 January 23, 2013 The Hardest Part Cannot or will not? Sometimes the simplest endeavors feel very far away even though they sit right within someones reach. Often enough, people find themselves preventing them from accomplishing what they wish to achieve. I learned from experience that some tasks are only as hard as one makes them. My family and I travelled to Hawaii one year for vacation. As expected, my siblings and I scramble out of the hotel as soon as possible to savor every drop of sunlight and explore what activities we knew lay in store for us. Shortly after exploring the beaches, shops, and local sights, we stumble upon a local favorite pastime. There, nestled in a secluded corner of the beach , lay a mass of rocks seemingly piled about on top of each other until it eventually built up to a sizable cliff that overlooked the ocean. Squinting against the glare of the sun, we could make out humanoid shapes standing atop the cliff. From there, screams of pleasure echoed to us and promised an afternoon of excitement and fun. Lured by the enchanting prospects, my siblings and I quickly made our way over to the cliffs and greedily clambered up the rocks. Once we finally reached the top, we find a group of local teenagers who greet us warmly and invite us to cliff dive with them. A gangly boy sees our wary looks, grins a toothy smile. He walks over to the edge of the cliff and grins at us over his shoulder before he suddenly leaps with an exhilarated whoop off the edge into open air. Slightly panicked, I peer over the edge of the cliff down the twenty foot drop to see the boy happily smiling up at us. My siblings take to the activity with feverish

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excitement, all of them jumping one by one after the tanned locals into the ocean over and over again. I remain frozen, watching body after body plunge into the sparkling ocean. Multiple times, I try for running start, but when I get within two feet of the precipice, a mechanism in me shuts down and I simply stop. The gangly boy from before notices my dilemma. He comes over to where I stand and introduces himself as Kai. This is your first time?, Kai asks me. Yeah, I confess to him sheepishly, It seems so difficult and easy at the same time, but they dont seem to be having trouble with it. I gesture to my siblings dejectedly. It is easy, Kai concedes, but it isnt difficult. Ignoring all the technicalities, it is simply jumping. It is like jumping from here to here He demonstrates by jumping a couple feet and back on the solid rock. Try it. Though it makes me feel foolish, I jump back and forth with him. He laughs boyishly and looks at me pointedly. I laugh with him and jump a couple more times. Kai leads me to the cliff edge. I can see the bobbing heads down below grinning at me and cheering me on. Now, do the same thing. Close your eyes, and jump, Kai encourages, gesturing out toward the open air. I breathe out slowly, close my eyes, and already, that familiar rush of thoughts paralyzes me. I shake my head and remind myself just to jump and not to worry about the technicalities. Feeling considerably less burdened, I wipe my mind clean of any thoughts and let my body let go and simply jump. I fall. Gravity pulls me down and the wind runs its feathery fingers through my hair. A rush of adrenaline courses through me, powering the thrill that overtakes me, and I give a big whoop as just for a second, I feel like I am flying. The shifting water rushes up to meet me as I fall into its cool embrace. The cool water only serves to give a satisfactory end to my thrill as I break the surface of the water to a chorus of cheers. Grinning madly, I crane my neck up just in time see Kai smile down at me and give me a thumbs up before disappearing just to come back flying through the air again to land in the water.

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See, that was easy wasnt it? Kai asks, pushing his wet hair back from his eyes. I smile softly, remembering how it seemed so hard to me before and reply, Yeah, I guess it was. Sometimes when one faces a task, he or she makes it harder than it looks. This prevents many people from fulfilling their own potential and living out a full life. My experience just goes to show that people should just calm down and look over what they need to do again and often enough, it turns out not as hard as they originally thought. Anyone can make a job harder, even if they just simply have to jump, but one must realize that they can jump before giving up.