Even though I can’t swim, I had the bright idea to go whitewater rafting in the American River for my birthday. That decision embodies my stop-at-nothing personality. The rapids were rated class 2-3 when we started—no biggie—but after a lunch break, the rapids increased to class 4-5. As we’re going down the river, our guide, Jeff, instructed us to turn the raft around and go backwards. The next thing we know, we hit a big rock and the raft flipped over on top of us. We were drowning! Jeff saved some of us from under the raft and also rescued the rest of the group floating down the river. When we made it back to safety, the American River crew named us “The Flippers.”