My name is Mohammad Nuruzzaman and this is my watermark story. I had a great childhood, one that I reminisce about perhaps too often. I went to boarding school, so I didn’t see my family as often as other kids my age.

It was some time in the summer, I was eleven and I was playing soccer with my brothers by Cox’s Bazaar Beach. I had the ball and I kept thinking to myself that this was going to be the time I finally won. I was almost there, about to score until I heard one of my brothers say; "Quick! Water is coming in our way!” My brothers and I hurried inside. We watched, as some people struggled to not get swept away by the strong water flowing.

In Bangladesh, floods are a common occurrence. Most of the time they weren’t too severe but sometimes people get caught in the waters, lost forever. As the waters began to subside, we were relieved that it was over. In fact, it had been nothing to worry about and my brothers and I decided it was time for a snack. As I opened a pack of chips, I thought to myself, “What if I had been one of those people outside struggling?”Maybe I was thinking too deep for a kid, but seriously, what if I was? I’d probably be swept away, considering my height. I was pretty glad that I wasn’t swept away and I was very thankful that my brothers had warned me. I wasn’t going to tell them that, but I felt really protected and warm on the inside.

The flood had completely stopped, and we went back outside to play soccer. The ball was missing, and most things were out of order. We worked together to clean and put things back in the right place. One of my brothers found a ball, and we resumed play. When we started to play, my mind forgot about the flood, and I had the ball once again.

Even now, I still think about that day. Water can be good or bad, but it is still important. It helps nature but can also cause many natural disasters. Almost every month, some kind of natural disaster happens, big or small. There are benefits and disadvantages to everything, just like there are ups and downs to life.