Defining Moment: A Short Story

I think as doctors and nurses, most of us have had that defining moment in our lives when we knew we were supposed to be in medicine. For me, that moment was about twenty years ago. I was outside helping my mom in the front yard. She was pushing a lawnmower and tripped over a root. She fell hard to the ground splitting her knee open to the bone. I ran inside the house; not to get my dad, but to go get a towel and bandages to stop the bleeding. I begged and pleaded with my mother to let me come with her to the ER. Reluctantly she gave in and agreed to let me come. From the moment I walked in the door, I was fascinated with everything I saw. The doctors and nursing scurrying around, the lights, the sounds; I couldn’t soak it up fast enough. I must have asked that poor ER

If you have lived for any length of time, you probably had a defining moment. I experienced my defining moment in the summer of 2010 when I was six years old. You may not think a child that young could have a defining moment, but you would be wrong. Moreover, our experiences as children help to shape our personalities, our outlook on life, and what fears and anxieties we develop. My defining moments happened on a trip to The American Museum of Natural History.

When I was young, my father was an avid video gamer, reader, and computer engineer. He introduced me to video gaming through gifting me my first Gameboy Color, which was the successor of the original Gameboy. The differences between the two was just that one had lights and actual graphics while the other had no lights and contained sketch-like graphics. Anyways, through that gift I was able to have a defining moment which was with a game called Kirby. Kirby was just a game about a pink blob that wants to be a hero and save his land, which was something I was really into because of the progression system and the feeling of success which it granted me. I ended up liking games and

On your marks, get set, BANG! The sound of the bang from the two wooden pieces resonated through the air. I pushed off from my right foot and jolted to the front of the pack. The teachers roared in excitement and the crowd cheered as Cross-country had just begun. It was that time of the year again where you see little kids running around the school to get a certificate or even better, if you’re good that is, into a tournament.

Everyone discovers the pain of losing someone they love eventually. In my opinion, my turn to experience that pain came much too early. But, that loss also forced me to grow up. It forced to me accept the things that I can’t change, to start taking responsibility for my actions, and it showed me that the world most definitely doesn’t revolve around me. There has been no experience, relationship, challenge, or obstacle that has influenced me more than saying goodbye to my grandpa.

Pressure builds all around me, my head swimming in emotions and the loud thumping from my blood flow. My heart rate is out of control, but this is becoming a normal routine for me. The clock on the wall reads 4:32am; so I pull on some pants, grab a pack of cigarettes and my earphones.

I had an epiphany last night. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Epiphanies are always bittersweet. I feel like I’m a pretty self aware person, most of the time. At least enough to realize that I really don’t know myself very well at all. Just when I think I have myself figured out, I surprise myself with new thoughts about who I am as a person and what dictates and shapes my actions and emotions. It’s interesting and refreshing to learn new things about myself. I’ve known myself for 23 years and I still don’t really know myself at all. It’s weird when you think of it in that way. You meet someone and feel like you fully know them after a few years, but how can that be possible if you don’t even truly know yourself? Do we ever fully know ourselves? Or do we lay on our death beds still having realizations that had never occurred to us before?

I felt my heart stop. This audition would determine what I will spend the rest of my year doing. Making it would mean that I spend the year working on jazz music. I take a deep breath and listen to my starting note, a C. I open my mouth to sing and begin remembering all the training I’ve done for this. It remind me of the state competition.

It was a casual sunny mall day on a Tuesday afternoon. It was the kind of day where you get front row parking and never stand in line to check-out. It was just my toddler son and I needlessly getting out of the house to enjoy a bit of cool mall air. Our first stop is always the playground but I had to grab a few Auntie Ann’s soft pretzels to munch on while I watched him at play. Being pregnant, I simply could not resist the buttery-baked aroma circulating the air. After contemplating cinnamon sugar, I ordered the biggest cup of salted pretzel bites and a refreshing strawberry-lemonade to drink. Although I have had Auntie Anne’s pretzels numerous of times, I was not prepared for what was about to happen next.

This was the third time I had woken up paralyzed. The first time was the most pleasant. I opened my eyes but my movement stopped there. I could see nothing but the ceiling. I could hear nothing but the birds chirping from my window. I could feel nothing but the bed against by back and the covers over my chest. This lasted about 5 minutes. The next morning was different. This time, I felt pressure on my left leg. The floor around me creaked periodically. I noticed brief flashes in my peripheral vision. It was at this moment where I realized I wasn’t alone. Someone or something was walking about my room as if surveying my paralyzed body. Whatever the thing was, it was gone by the time I could move again. This time it had lasted 15 minutes.

I found myself inundated by the music that was surrounding me. The music was unknown to my ears, but still I danced my way through the crowd. It was so loud that I could grab the music notes in the air and save them in my pockets. I couldn’t even hear myself think. The lights, the atmosphere, everything surrounding me made me feel like I could live forever.

anything excites me. The kiss gave me a wonderful sensation. If there could be something between us, then yes, let’s embrace it. But if not, life carries on.”

As the title suggests “The story of the hour” is a story written by Kate Chopin which happens in an hour span of a woman. The story revolves around an ill young woman named Louis Mallard whose husband was involved in a tragic train accident. The author developed many themes around the incidents that happen in that one hour, which are very differently interpreted than the usual norm for the times when this story was written. The themes of life, death are very evident from the story but the underlying conflicting themes of oppression, woman’s freedom, marital issues, guilt and people perception are

Standing on the turf which has been my home for the last two weeks. I am now wondering what the results of all of my hard work would be, after working as hard as a worker bee. My coach has bright pink hair and is a little bit out there, she could make anything happen, just because she wants to. Soccer is not my main sport, so being on varsity would be a stretch. I am exhausted from the hard this week, I feel like I am going to collapse. The swelling on my calves is a big egg, I am ready for the answer to hit me like a train.

My mom, my sister Hailey ,and packed. I packed the cooler for the drinks and food. While I opened the freezer, I saw all of the frost on the ice container and I saw fog come out of the freezer. As my face got cooled I tried to get the ice container I put both arms in the freezer and reached and reached. As I kept on reaching I felt all of the cold air go on my arms all the way down my legs. As I finally picked up the large white,plastic, ice container I felt all of the frost on the box now on my hands. As I set the container full of ice on the island. Then I finally lifted up the ice container and dumped the ice in the cooler I put the container in the freezer. As my mom told me to watch Hailey while she goes to get soda. I told Hailey to pack whatever she wants to pack. As Hailey was packing I was sitting there listening to music on my phone. When I heard my mom pull in into the driveway and into the garage I took of my headphones and packed the cooler into the enormous trunk.While my sister was getting buckled into her carseat I got hers stuff and put it in the trunk. My mom and I got buckled and mom pulled out of the garage and we were on the road in no time, but before we went to the lake we stopped at Sara's Ice Cream Shop. I got a large root beer float while my mom got an Icecream cone and so did my sister. 30 minutes later we have arrived at the lake.