Collection of Writings 2024

My Inspiration

School Writing Exercise

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After reading a book called Tragedy on the Slopes, written by Karmel Schreyer, my inspiration is a paralympian who loved nature and had many adventurous hobbies - Sam Kavanagh.

Sam Kavanagh is just an ordinary person like you and me. He likes to play all kinds of extreme and dangerous sports with his friend, Blake Morstad. Both of them were great skiers and best friends.

One day, Sam and Blake went on a special skiing and camping trip with three other friends: Matt Schulyer, Jason Thompson and Chris Maki. They brought reliable equipment to Nemesis Mountain. They skied and had fun. Time passed quickly as all of them had to go back to the city soon, but at the last minute, Blake decided to go for one last run on the highest slope. However, what happened next changed the friends' lives forever.

"Avalanche!" Someone yelled. As an experienced skier, Sam ran towards the biggest tree and hugged it tight, but the avalanche was too strong! It was moving as fast as 130 kilometres an hour and it pulled Sam away from the tree! Luckily, Sam was able to come back out alive once it was over but his leg was badly injured! His left foot was facing backwards and he could see eight centimetres of bones sticking out of a tear in his pants! Thankfully, his friends found Sam and tried to heal his leg. Although Blake was nowhere to be found until 10 minutes later. He was found dead in the snow with his neck twisted.

After days of hoping, the search-and-rescue team saved Sam and his other friends and brought Sam to the hospital. Sam's leg was infected so the doctors had to make a difficult decision whether they should amputate Sam's leg or not. Finally a decision was made.

Losing a leg is hard for anyone, especially someone like Sam Kavanagh. Learning to accept living as an amputee and coping with Blake's death was very difficult for him.

A year passed and Sam decided to start skiing again with the help of his wife. He started participating in competitions and the Paralympics. He won lots of awards despite his disability. Now he is a world-class paralympian and motivates people to be the best they can be.

I've learnt a lot from Sam Kavanagh. His spirit of not giving up easily is what inspires me the most. I love his positive energy and undying hope. I've discovered that just being disabled doesn't mean you can't do anything. Disability is created in the mind - not by the loss of a leg. Whenever we face difficulties, we should make decisions wisely and try our best to overcome them.

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This composition has won me 2 competitions and 1 performance in front of the entire school. It was written when I was in Secondary 2/Grade 8. I'm thankful for the help of my teachers and the support from my friends and family. I wouldn't have done it without you! ♡The Author 29/1/2024