Four UUs tell us stories
of awesome times they
will never forget.
I didn’t think about the soccer game I have
tomorrow after school. I forgot all about
my dog who’s acting sick. I didn’t even
think about my birthday party
that’s coming up on
Saturday. All I thought
about was the two feet of
air between me and the
street—I was in the middle of a
perfect ollie on my skateboard. I’ve never felt
like that before—the skateboard and air and I
were all one thing!
I was stuck at my Aunt Sandy’s
for the afternoon—no friends,
no computer, no TV. I was
ready to be bored. I lay down in her worn-out
old hammock. A spider scurried into view and
began repairing a web that was hanging
between the hammock and tree. Suddenly, a
fly appeared out of
nowhere and was
instantly trapped
in the web. I
was hypnotized.
I’ve done
lots of arts and
crafts, but I
could never
have made
something as
delicate and
strong as that
web. The afternoon went by and I didn’t even
notice. I was lost in the mysterious world that
hung above my head.
The coach said everyone would play in the
tournament, including Dylan—Dylan, who
hadn’t made a
goal all year and
who still wasn’t
sure what a foul
was. Our coach
knew that letting
everyone play
meant we would have to work harder than
usual to play as a team. In the first half, we
failed miserably. No one was even passing the
ball. Then the magic happened. Dylan got the
ball and dribbled it the full length of the field
before passing it cleanly to our best shooter.
Turns out Dylan can really run! We became a
real team that day—almost like we were one
person. It was a great feeling.
The
sand
was still
warm from
a day of
hot sun.
We snuggled
in our
sleeping
bags and
waited for night to come. We were far from
town so we saw no lights in the distance. No
airplanes above. No sounds. Just sand and sky.
And then stars. Bright stars, dim stars, shooting
stars. Thousands, millions, billions of stars! I felt
like I was in outer space, part of the universe,
floating among the stars.
I didn’t think about the soccer game I have
tomorrow after school. I forgot all about
my dog who’s acting sick. I didn’t even
think about my birthday party
that’s coming up on
Saturday. All I thought
about was the two feet of
air between me and the
street—I was in the middle of a
perfect ollie on my skateboard. I’ve never felt
like that before—the skateboard and air and I
were all one thing!
I was stuck at my Aunt Sandy’s
for the afternoon—no friends,
no computer, no TV. I was
ready to be bored. I lay down in her worn-out
old hammock. 
A spider scurried into view and
began repairing a web that was hanging
between the hammock and tree. Suddenly, a
fly appeared out of
nowhere and was
instantly trapped
in the web. I
was hypnotized.
I’ve done
lots of arts and
crafts, but I
could never
have made
something as
delicate and
strong as that
web. The afternoon went by and I didn’t even
notice. I was lost in the mysterious world that
hung above my head.
The coach said everyone would play in the
tournament, including Dylan—Dylan, who
hadn’t made a
goal all year and
who still wasn’t
sure what a foul
was. Our coach
knew that letting
everyone play
meant we would have to work harder than
usual to play as a team. In the first half, we
failed miserably. No one was even passing the
ball. Then the magic happened. Dylan got the
ball and dribbled it the full length of the field
before passing it cleanly to our best shooter.
Turns out Dylan can really run! We became a
real team that day—almost like we were one
person. It was a great feeling.
The
sand
was still
warm from
a day of
hot sun.
We snuggled
in our
sleeping
bags and
waited for night to come. We were far from
town so we saw no lights in the distance. No
airplanes above. No sounds. Just sand and sky.
And then stars. Bright stars, dim stars, shooting
stars. Thousands, millions, billions of stars! I felt
like I was in outer space, part of the universe,
floating among the stars.