3-Diego B: Swings vs. Slides

Call me a swing-person because slides are too boring for me. Call me a swing-person because I get to have fun. Call me a swing-person because I get to control my own destiny. I rode my first slide down when I was approximately five years old, and I can tell you that I have never enjoyed it since. You get anxious when you stare at the hole at the top of the slide—from my imagination, the slide looked like it headed nowhere—but then you realize how little effort it takes to conquer it. You slide down it and, while it is fast, you have no control over it. Your bottom might get heated from the force that you exert upon the hot surface of the slide, but every time you slide down it, you know exactly what is going to follow it. And when something bad happens in the slide—no matter what it is—you have no control over it. Swings are for risk-takers—those who cannot withstand the repetition of the direct route of a slide. Attempting to ride the swings when I was six years old was frightening in the beginning, but then you learn how enjoyable it is to control the velocity on the swings. The slide is the controller of your destiny, but you are the controller of the swing’s destiny. One might swing slowly at first, then twenty seconds later you are swinging across each side of the bark at exceeding high velocities. But when you lose your balance on the swing and you dive directly into the embarrassment of the bark below you, you might also break your first limb. So have fun on the swings, for you control how fast you go, unlike the slide, but be careful of your destiny, for you could end up hurting yourself. (303 words)