Personal Narrative Analysis

Throughout the past year I went through a great deal of undertakings that caused me to become more experienced with my skills and how to overcome various challenges. These really built up my character and the way I am today. In all aspects, this past year consisted of going to Killington, Vermont, my brother going into the Air Force, meeting him in Texas for his graduation of basic training, completing a double backflip on a trampoline, landing a front flip on flat ground, accomplishment of a 2 ½ front flip on a diving board, getting 2nd at leagues, and competing in districts. All of these activities have advanced me in a skill or challenged me to an extent.

Most of your posting was geared towards something I mentioned in mine, and I couldn’t agree more. How exactly do we combat the nature of warfare used against us for the last 13 years? How do we counter the ruthless tactics? Using women and children as shields and weapons themselves, seeking shelter in mosques, suicidal tactics and IEDs? Up-armored vehicles and better equipment will only go so far, and while we’ve made huge leaps in the realm of modernizing our force, I don’t believe it to be enough.

For many, their formative years have a large influence on who they become as adults. This can happen in many different ways including new experiences, discovering a new sport or hobby, and uncovering what they are passionate about. For me, this was falling in love with a new language from a very young age and becoming very interested in the culture that was associated with it.

Failure is truly negative if we choose to not learn from it. When we face setbacks and difficulties, we are given golden opportunities to grow as people. Learning from our shortcomings makes us wiser, stronger, and unveils a chance to turn an undesirable outcome into a building block of character. My hockey career has been a sinusoidal trail of highs and lows, but I always learned from the downturns.

I am forty four years old with three children and a wonderful husband. I grew up in Oklahoma and later moved to Kansas, and then Arizona where I finished my degree is Political Science at Arizona State University. My career goals were to attend law school after undergrad, so that I could be an advocate for children that were suffering serious injustices back then, and sadly they still seem to be suffering those injustices today.

Welcome to my outlandish, yet in my opinion, amusing brain! The name presented to me upon birth is Taylor Lee Thompson. Currently, I am suffering through the struggles of junior year at Marion Senior High School. Difficult classes, early mornings, and extracurricular activities have made me an expert in the sport of juggling. The class that has appealed to me the most over the years is Criminal Justice. I found the behind the scenes instruction absolutely riveting! My instructor, Mrs. Hamm, kept me on my toes and I was always learning about crime, criminals, and cases. On the other hand, the class I utterly dread is history. Any and every type of history has always slowly bored me to sleep. I am convinced we are taught the same curriculum

Everyone will experience a death in their life at least once whether it’s a family member or friend, they will react to it differently and has to grieve in their own way. Death isn't something that someone looks forward too, so watching someone go from healthy, to where they can barely walk or talk on their own isn’t easy. But getting a lesson out of someones death takes away some of the pain, and helps you move on.

It was a day that I had been waiting for all season, why? Because it meant that the pain was going to be over and it was my final race to prove how good I really was to everyone and hopefully fulfill the goal my coach, school and fans set for me. That morning of October 28th I woke up really sick to my stomach. Nerves were taking over my body and I couldn't sit still. The ride to the course I remember putting my headphones in and zoning everything out and never truly coming out of it till after the race was over. I remember my mom hugging me and telling me how proud of me she was and that no matter how bad my shins hurt to keep running. My coach grabbed me before I went to the starting line and surprisingly said how proud he was of me too, but that it wasn't over so that could change. It was so cold outside and I remember being able to see my breath and worrying that it was going to really effect my performance. I could also see the

As a 16 year old young man, when I think about responding to a writing prompt asking me to describe an event that I consider a launch pad towards gaining maturation, the first things that should come to my mind are getting my first job, graduating from high school, or being accepted into the college of my choice. This was not the case for me. The event that I feel has marked my transition from childhood to manhood would be the conversation that my mother had with me after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

The paradox of human nature is driven by the paramountcy of competition. Whether biological as powered by evolution, or modern as in the case of college admission, competition galvanizes progress. The simple fact that elite colleges are becoming more selective due to the large number of competitive students demonstrates this. Resolution is not earned without the conflict that precedes it; therefore, even defeat should be treated as an opportunity for improvement, as it is all we can really do.

When I was younger my dad used to be an alcoholic and he also cheated on my mom with so many girls. One day I went to sleep over his house and all these girls showed up every time I went over, he would always send me to his room alone and I would sleep in the dark scared thinking something might happen to me. One day when I went over he was drinking and all I remember is I was sitting on the floor and he just started kicking me, and my little self is thinking what did I do wrong. But I always went back not knowing if it’s going to happen again. My dad lived everywhere because he didn’t have that much money to stay settled in one place so he lived on top of “Tony’s Deli” in Pawling NY and the trailer park by beer and soda in Wingdale NY. When

Days after I graduated eighth grade, I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain of my life: a stabbing in my stomach. I reluctantly woke up my parents, and they decided we should drive to the emergency room. The stabbing feeling persisted as I curled up in the back seat trying to block out the pain. We finally arrived at the hospital, and I somehow staggered to the entrance. Right outside, I threw up and then began to panic realizing that whatever was happening was more serious than a simple stomach ache. After this point most of what occurred was a blur; the only thing I remember is being transferred to Stanford Children’s Hospital.

Heading into my freshman year, life was going great; a majority of my friends were going to Hercules High and I had just come back from an amazing trip around the Caribbean. When the first day of freshman year came, I was simply overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions. Fear, happiness,

My grandparents moved to the Big Island from Philly and my grandfather wanted to open a restaurant to introduce his culture to others. In June of 1991, my grandfather took over the Canaan Deli and started to serve cheesesteaks and Philly style pizza. At first everyone was skeptical about this sandwich from a restaurant that just came up out of the blue. My grandfather would tell the new customers that if they didn't like the sandwich, then he would give them their money back. The surprising thing was no one complained about it, and eventually started to ask for a cheesesteak on rice.

Elaborate on an issue of personal, local, national, or global concern that is of significant importance to you.