The author describes their lake house located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is secluded and surrounded by nature, providing a place of serenity and escape from everyday life. During visits, the author enjoys activities like fishing and learning to clean the fish. Interacting with nature at the lake house has taught the author life lessons about respecting the environment and living creatures. These experiences have shaped the person the author is today and influenced their career choice working with landscaping.

1. Nic Carter
Dr. DiSarro
ENG 101-OL04
4 July 2014
The cabin in the woods
At my lake house in Michigan, there is an abundance of nature and barely any
people. It is full of majestic wonders and life lessons every time I go, which has
shaped me into the person I am today. Imagine a quiet Loon-filled lake, which
reflects like a mirror; quiet enough to hear a stick break in the distance. This
describes my lake house in the deep forests of Michigan. Due to the low population,
in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, there is an abundance of forests and animals.
When I was in Michigan last summer, I spent hours on the lake fishing. Throughout
this tranquility, my thoughts wandered in my head about animals and the simplicity
of life.
Every summer I go to my lake house in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Our
lake house is secluded and located near many private lakes, far from the populous. It
is important to me because it is where I go to escape the stream of everyday life;
although I am, submerged in the stream of peaceful nature. During each visit, we
have an annual fish fry with the fish we catch out of the lake. These fish are all
locally from the lake. The different types of fish we catch are bass, sunfish, perch and
bluegill. Although they are common lake fish, they do not taste the same to me
unless they are from the lake in Michigan. The people who feast at the fish fry
consist of my grandmother, grandfather, my sister, my mom, and I. After we catch

2. the fish, we have to clean them. My grand father is usually the one to clean the fish,
since I do not have that much experience and he is able to get the most meat out of
anyone who cleans the fish. I have been fishing since I was very young however
when I was around ten years old my grandfather decided to teach me how to clean
the fish. When I first learned how to clean a fish I was disgusted. However, I have
learned that eating off the land is a way of life and sacrificing one soul to nourish
another is the circle of life. Not only does Michigan give me serenity in my life, it has
also taught me life lessons.
At times I find myself learning life lessons at my lake house. Having access to
this place gives me different prospective on nature. Since I grew up in the city for
half of my life, the atmosphere of the lake house gives me more appreciation for
nature. Being so far out in the woods gives me a great since of serenity, which makes
me grateful for such clean air. This has allowed me to understand better how
humans impact the environment. The land where my lake house is preserved in its
most natural state and it causes me to feel like a pilgrim or first settlers. One time
during the summer, I decided to tame a chipmunk, which led to me to be able to
eventually get close to it. Through this I have gained new insight into the positive
and negative human interactions with animals can cause an unbalanced nature.
Thinking back to my times there I have realized that they have shaped me into the
person I am today.
Being so far in the wilderness I have the stress-free feeling of being
surrounded by the sounds of nature. Moreover I have little disturbance when I am in
a stressful situation in my everyday life. Since spending time I have a great respect

3. for living creatures. For instance, when a fish hook rips out the innards by accident,
making it inedible for humans, we put the fish in the bushes for other animals to
consume rather than throwing the fish back to float in the water. Another example
of respect I have gained for living creatures, is when we put a salt block on a stump
for deer and animals to enjoy, since they do not get much salt in their diet. The
experiences at the lake house have helped me to get a job working with nature,
which is landscaping. When I work with nature I am reminded of times, of me at my
lake house when I was little and had complete sanctuary. These are prime examples
of how my lake house has shaped me into the person I am today.
At my lake house in Michigan there is an abundance of nature and barely any
people. It is full of majestic wonders and life lessons every time I go, which has
shaped me into the person I am today. At my lake house I do many outdoor
activities, such as fishing and taming animals. The serenity of the lake house has
allowed me to understand the impact of humans and nature. The life lessons I have
learned that shaped me into the person I am today. My lake house has allowed me to
enjoy the serenity of nature.
Nic –
In terms of the visual display, I think you can do more with less slides. Try
combining words and images together onto singular slides and pay attention
to details like the size of images, borders, spelling, etc. etc. See margin
comments for more info. ~D.