One foot in front of the other by Penelope

One foot in front of the other by Penelope - May 2026 Scholarship Essay

630 days ago I woke up to the most exquisite sunrise I have ever witnessed. Twenty-one hours later, I lay naked on a cold, wet rock caked in mud in the middle of the Canadian wilderness.

That morning marked the beginning of the sixteenth day of my canoeing expedition. I, along with my crewmates, awoke with high expectations for the day ahead as we planned to complete our largest named portage-Little Sas. We completed the first few portages of the day without too much hassle; however, the knowledge of what would be faced ahead began to wear on me and others.

When we arrived at Little Sas, we devised a plan to get nine packs and three canoes through with only seven girls who were physically able to carry something. Two other girls and I volunteered to go through twice. The first time through was difficult, but it was not until the first walk back when I felt not only my body break, but the inner walls of my mind also began to sliver and crack. Negativity and despair seeped into this open space. Every step stole a piece of the hope that I had held within me.

The second time through was extremely challenging not only mentally but physically as well. As sweat seeped out of every pore of my body, my muscles yearned for rest, and my mind screamed at me to quit. I could only hear one sentence over and over.

“One foot in front of the other.”

This is what pushed me to keep going, not only for myself but also for the others with me. It was during this trip that my guide had fallen down a cliff and cut a deep gash in her leg that was bleeding profusely. We needed to get her medical help. The next few hours were a blur of portaging and paddling through intense Canadian terrain. When we arrived at our final portage of the day, I lost any ounce of tenacity that had pushed me through the day. I felt fear claw its way to the surface as my airways ceased to flow, my vision blurred, and my body began to break down. I watched my guide fight to stay conscious due to excessive blood loss. Suddenly, I was jolted back to reality and realized that someone needed to take charge. I urged my guide and an injured crewmate into a canoe and began paddling the remaining twelve kilometers to help.

We had been paddling for a little over two hours when we had to stop and wait for the others to catch up - watching the sun sink more with every passing moment. The shoreline and sky began to merge into a sheet of darkness. Together again, we continued paddling until we reached a set of rapids that we were unable to paddle through, resulting in us having to turn around and find the nearest rock to call camp for the night.

That night as I lay shivering, wet, naked, and disgusted with myself just wishing for the sun to rise again, I realized that despite the seemingly endless obstacles that the day presented, I had persisted and made it through. When your body and mind protests and pleads for you to stop, you can keep going.

Now, over a year later I have grown to appreciate what I once coined the worst day of my life, as what has made me into the person I am today. The ability to feel completely in tune with one's inner self is not something that everyone will experience. I am beyond grateful that I was able to endure these challenges and come out stronger. Thankfully, my guide was also able to beautifully recover. I will continue to live everyday with the knowledge that if you just take the steps of life one foot in front of the other everything will work out.