My name is Sylvia Hardy. I’m fourteen years old and I’m an eighth grader who walks the halls of Riverside middle school. I have small, green eyes and long, dirty blonde hair. I’m about average when it comes to height. I reside in the peaceful woods off of a narrow, dirt trail. There aren’t many paved roads out here. When you drive down the trails, dust fills the air and it makes it really hard to see. I live with my parents, Jeff and Anne Hardy in a small, but yet intriguing cottage. Our house overlooks the most beautiful, and relatively large lake in Liberty County, Wisconsin. I understand now where the lake got it’s name from. The calm water sparkles as the early morning sun rises. The visibility of the lake will sweep you off of your feet. The view is mesmerizing. This is one of the many reasons why my parents had purchased this cottage. The lake is an opportunity-filled fun playground. There are many things to do here.

At the very young age of six, I learned how to water ski. My dad pulled me around on the jet ski. I was so terrified the second I hopped on the ski, but I soon got the hang of it. Skimming across the lake was really enjoyable, however, I had quite a few bloopers. Mama didn’t like for me to perform this activity, because she felt that it was dangerous. She didn’t particularly like going into the lake herself, mainly because she didn’t know how to swim. She was very nervous when daddy and I went out too far. She was afraid that if something went wrong and we needed to be rescued, she wouldn’t be able to swim and save us. Living this far out in the lonesome countryside, she was scared that help would not arrive quickly enough in case of an emergency. To lessen mama’s fear, my dad and I came to an agreement that we would eradicate the most daring of the many water sports that we take part in when mom’s around.

My dad and I love swimming and fishing, so the lake is perfect for us. We have to be extremely careful at the lake, because we live in the woods. There are several different types of wild animals roaming around and some of them are quite dangerous. The main thing that I get worried about is the snakes. I’m deathly terrified of them. Sometimes we go out on the boat to fish. Mom loved to join us when it came to fishing off of the side of the boat. However, she insisted that we wear life vests even if the water is only knee-deep. Who knows how deep the lake really is!