#252, Persist
In April 2003, Aron Ralston was hiking alone in a Utah canyon when a boulder shifted and crushed his right arm against the rock wall. No one knew where he was. No cell phone service. He had food for a day, water for less. He filmed his final goodbye to his family on a video camera.
But on the 127th hour, he made a decision.
He broke his own bones to free the arm. He cut through flesh and nerve with a cheap knife. He rappelled down a cliff one-handed, hiked five miles through the desert, and flagged down a helicopter. He persisted.
Survival isn't a feeling. It's a moment, ugly, quiet, and completely alone—when you decide you're not finished yet.
To complete this Journal response, address the following:
You are someone, anyone, and something has gone wrong. Maybe you are alone. Maybe the world around you has changed in an instant. Maybe you have one choice left and it is not a good one. Write the scene. Not the before. Not the after. The moment itself—when survival becomes the only thing that matters.
Use the 1st or 3rd person POV.
Begin the story in media res.
Comment on a peer’s response.
-Brenden Lee Teacher