Read the following excerpt from a personal narrative essay. based on the excerpt, what did the writer learn from her personal experience? have you ever been canoeing? i went on a canoeing trip with my mom, dad, and two brothers when i turned 13. it was one of the best days of my life. it was exciting, scary, and challenging all at once. at first i couldn’t believe those long, narrow pieces of wood could hold all five of us. but our instructor told us that canoes have been around for many years. he also told us some interesting facts about the history of canoe, like how american indians used canoes as a way to travel quickly. he patted the wood of the canoe we would be using. “it’s made of an old tree trunk,” he said. i asked the question that had been bothering me ever since i saw our canoe. “can it really hold all of us? ” i pointed to my brothers and me. “it looks like the bottom could fall right off.” the instructor laughed. “oh, you’ll be surprised how strong this wood is. if our customers were always drowning, we’d have a 'sinking' business on our hands.” he laughed some more at his own joke. then he became serious and showed us how to keep our balance while getting into and out of the boat. he also showed me how to grip the paddle so that my left hand would guide the boat and my right hand would give the paddle power.