My Watermark is Lake Huron, Ontario.

I grew up on Lake Huron quite a bit, because we had family friends who lived on Manitoulin Island. I would be on the Chi-Cheemaun every summer, and I’ve had very good childhood memories of being on the body of water. The water is blue and so cold all year round, and I love it. I love cold water.

But when I was in grade 10/11 a group of geography students from my school went on a camping trip to Bruce Peninsula. It was a time when I was not very healthy in high school. I had a lot of sickness’ which were not very controlled, so I was a little un-well. But I went on the camping trip anyways.

Part of the trip was a 9K hike, walking up the coast of the Georgian Bay. It was the hardest thing I have done up to that point in my life. I was not well, and did not have my diabetes under control, so I was exhausted. Even though the hike was not very far, it involved climbing large boulders, and climbing steep cliffs, and going down the other side. I didn’t have water or proper food, and I felt that I was dragging the whole group down. I felt horrible for trying to keep up, but not being able to. It was very exhausting.

We ended at the Grotto. The grotto is a big outcropping in the escarpment, where you could slither through this hole in a rock and end up in a giant vast cave, filled with water, almost like a swimming pool. It was beautiful and wonderful.

I just remember getting there and feeling instantly recharged, because you get in the cold water, and it’s so invigorating. Even though I had a really long day, and felt kind of down, getting into the water felt so invigorating, and so powerful to be in there. I’ve been there before, so it wasn’t a surprise. But it’s just so beautiful and energizing to be there. Also since, we ran out of water earlier we just filled our water up with water from the lake. It was the best water I had ever tasted. It just felt, clean, pure and cold. It was great. To summarize my story, it’s the state of feeling really down, but being completely rejuvenated by the water.