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Summary Of The Water Is Wide By Pat Conroy

724 Words3 Pages

In chapter 10 of Pat Conroy’s novel, The Water Is Wide, Pat Conroy takes the children of Yamacraw Island to Washington, D.C. This trip was a great learning experience for the kids and was the farthest that any of them had ever been from home. They toured museums, shopped for souvenirs from street vendors, and ate hot dogs from hot dog carts. This trip taught many lessons to the children, and even to Mr. Conroy. Pat Conroy learned that trips are unpredictable in nature, and cannot be planned to the letter. He also learned that while you may expect children to learn one thing from an experience, they will likely learn so much more. This part of the book particularly held my interest for two reasons. The first being that I very much love Washington, D.C., and the second being that my experience there is slightly similar to that of the Yamacraw children. During the start of my senior year, the top four students in the senior class took a trip to …show more content…

Growing up, I always depended on other people to take care of me. My dad was (and still is) my knight in shining armor, ready to rescue me from any tower or dragon I faced. This time, he couldn’t save me. He was 500 miles away. I could have let my group save me, I could have followed the same pattern and played the role of damsel in distress once more, but I decided to make a change and become the independent person I’ve always known I could be. And after this incident, I began leading the group, instead of following. This choice helped cement my role as a leader in school, at home, and among my friends, not to mention, it gave me a funny story to tell about myself. No one could have planned on me getting left behind at the station, and if they could have known it would happen they would have prevented it, but I would not have it any other way. I learned a valuable lesson that can only be learned from experience, and I will always be grateful for my trip to Washington D.C. and my metro

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