A Brave New World-Personal Narrative

The storm clouds were dark, gloomy and grim like a graveyard. They were near the surface of the earth. It was going to rain. They were lingering on. The soldiers’ uniforms were repeatedly buffeted by the howling gale. The sky was as black as a devil’s soul. A large boom echoed across the crimson battlefield as the lighting returned the thunder’s call. Endless calls for help could be heard. Then, the rain started pouring down, filling up the battle field, like a flood, as the constant sound of the rain pounding on the metal could be heard. Heavy boots pressed down on the wet mud, which would not be dry for the next week, due to the trenches. The trenches were six-foot-deep and reeked of dead bodies and human excrement.

It was now the sunday morning of December 7, 1941, where many military personnel had a time of leisure. Many of them either were still sleeping, in halls eating breakfast, or getting ready for church. I who had been in the mess hall having breakfast sat with a group of men, enjoying a warm bowl of oatmeal and coffee. As I took a sip of coffee I felt all my muscles awaken and gain strength ready for what this day would bring me. It was just another day of work, or that is what we all thought. The hall was full of cheerful men laughing, talking, and eating. All of a sudden we heard the sounds of planes racing through the thick air, and the crowd of people grew silent. I looked around as everyones faces grew with fear and confusion, as they ran outside to see what was going on.

This past year, I have been apart of Naperville Central’s brand new Special Spaces club. When my friend approached me and asked me to join, I agreed even though I had no clue what I was involving myself in. In retrospective, I can honestly say that becoming a part of Special Spaces has been one of the most meaningful, fun, and fulfilling experiences I have had in high school.

We all sleep and rest and eat in the trenches, but it’s not paradise. One night, the sound of loud booms woke us up. We were being attacked by some very dangerous artillery. We could feel every boom and every crack in the dirt above us. Many soldiers were not prepared for this and got sick. The attack come out of nowhere and frightened all of us.

I had to come to a realization that my beloved island was being attacked by the Japanese. I didn’t dare go near Pearl Harbor. I didn’t finish my job that day and I rode my bicycle as fast as I possibly could to my mother. I was scared for myself, but more importantly, I was scared for my mother. I thought

The sound of the rain landing hard onto the frozen soil was always a nice one. It accompanied me just staring straight into nothingness. It felt great, as if I was just focused on one thing, the “1000 mile stare”. I was on the verge of falling asleep, but at the same time there was no way I was going to. The stare was great, much too addicting. However, there was one thing I hated though. It was the fear that I could get stuck in it. That nothing else would happen in this god forsaken world If I just gazed into 1 thing...for a long period of time. Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing? People would stop dying and the world would finally be at peace. I finally leave the 1000 mile stare for a second, just to look in another direction and focus

But then Unexpectedly, there was a bang and then suddenly my whole world came crashing down before me, and then I also remember running back home to see if my parents were okay; but no! The Germans had got there before me, it was then I knew they had taken my mother, father and little piper with them, I remember crying so much that my eyes began to ache, knowing that this pain would never end, so it was then I became a hermit and isolated myself from the whole of the outside world still knowing that hole in my heart would never be filled again even if the German forces were brought down. As I lay still in my bed, I felt a great darkness come over me.

My dad and I had always lived in New York City. After 15 years of experience and the guidance of my older brother, you could say that I knew my way around town. The coffee shops with the best lattes, the highest swinging swing sets in every park, and most importantly, the buildings with the best views. You would think that after living here for so long I would get sick of seeing the view of the city every day, but it just never gets old. The best spot is at the top of my apartment building, on the far northeast corner, looking over the horizon and onto the Hudson. There was no other way of completing my day, no matter the rain, snow, or blazing heat I sat on that rooftop every night as the sun disappeared, along with the overworked New Yorkers for the night. The most interesting part is, every single night, the color of the sky is always slightly different. No sunset was ever the exact same. Anyways, as I was walking back down the stairs to my condo, 7B, I got the jitters in my stomach, I was beyond excited for tomorrow, the first day of Winter Break. My older brother, Todd, was taking me and my best friend Hannah up to Vermont to go skiing. I opened our apartment door, took a quick shower, and fell asleep with Cooper on my lap while watching Full House.

After four hours of waiting in the darkness, I was on my way to school. I walked past soldiers as they hurriedly ran toward me. One teenage soldier attacked me with his words by saying, “Are you blind? This area is closed after the security chief was bombed. I suggest that you take a different route before I round you up.” Following this encounter, my feelings of terror were magnified.

The boats landed, The sound of steel grazing against the wet sand broke the silence. The locks on the boats broke, and within seconds a once calm, and quiet setting was transformed into an all out war zone. The first shots were fired, we were commanded to bare down on the beach head, and dig, until we were safe. We lost a great

We stared at each other speechless, literally speechless. No matter how hard I tried I could make a sound. Her eyes darted back and forth and slowly she opened her mouth and out came a small insect. She screamed, or it appeared she made the motions of screaming but like me no sound came out, she pushed herself away from the desk and stood up baking away in fright. We watched the strange insect like creature scurry away across the room and slide between a crack in the front door.

As I finished reading my dad’s notebook from when he was in World War Two, I fell asleep. The next morning, October 29, 1966, I wake

My grandparents on my mother side are both Christians. Since I was 5, they had told me many stories from the Bible such as: God created the world, God loves all the people including me, and God gives his only son to save us. Even though I didn’t fully understand the truths about God in that time, these messages had heavily influenced me on building my worldview.

Trying something new could be exciting or a little frightening to others. You could have had mixed feelings about trying something new. Your new thing that you tried could be a food, a trip, or even in my case getting over my anxiety and riding roller coasters and fair rides.

It was late at night and the lights were dim. It was darker under the table. I always felt safe there when they went at it. The words going back and forth as I covered my brother’s ears. His tears were streaming down his face as we sat there trembling as the storm raged on. Noises loud as lightning echoed through the house as things flew. Words hitting like thunder on my ears. Tears were falling down my face like raindrops and we sat there huddled and afraid without anyone to help us through this storm. I looked down at my brother and tried to wear a fake mask of courage, despite the fact that I am a coward, I looked at him and told him I wouldn't let anything hurt him, although at the first chance I got I planned on saving only myself.