Personal Narrative Analysis

Normally I liked to go to summer campouts for Boy Scouts. The scouts were always bubbling with excitement for the week of being outdoors. But when I woke up that morning, I knew something was different. No, it wasn't just the fact that I had to wake up at 4 in the morning for the six-hour-long car ride up to Camp Tomahawk. I had a feeling that the coming week would be unusual in a way I could never explain.

During my pregnancy, I envisioned what it might be like to be a mother; I imagined that I would have a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to myself as a child. I imagined someone calling me “mom”, watching them take their first steps and letting them have chocolate cake for breakfast. I expected that we would be able to relate to each other, I would teach her (or him) things, and we would evolve into friends as my parents and I have. My beautiful son Aries Jayden was born in Edmonton, Alberta at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, on September 18th 2003 at 1:29 am by emergency caesarean. Aries did not cry as most babies do when they first come in to the world. The doctor realized that something was different about Aries the moment

On the third week of a Trail Maintenance crew I did in the white mountains my mental and physical capabilities were put to breaking point. Our groups usual routine of lounging around on the weekend was going to change, we were going to embark on a Leave No Trace. A two day backpacking trip where we expand our knowledge on outdoor ethics. We loaded up our packs with supplies and then packed the van with our bags and departed.

I usually worry about… everything. If one little thing happens then I freak out about it. I overthink a lot of things and that does not help. It usually takes me a long time to settle down after I start to worry.

Trouble always seemed to follow my every footstep. Being a troubled child was always a part of my life during my elementary and middle school years. I practically lived in the principal’s office and the detention center for fighting in school or misbehaving in class. My mother constantly had to take off of work, to come to school conferences with me for my behavioral problems. Day in and Day out I would hear her nagging about the way I acted and me needing to behave better in school. After every lecture she gave me she would always say with a mugged face and one raised brow, “Your actions reflect off of my parenting, so act like I raised you with sense.” Eventually, I grew tired of hearing the same depressing speeches from my mom, so her words started to go in one ear and out the other.

Have you ever had anything bad happen to you and then it turned out into a good thing? well i think everyone has something bad and of course… good .

It is hard to believe it has been two years since I retired after 37 years as an educator. After the initial withdrawal questions that I am sure most retirees experience such as what was I thinking to quit a perfectly good job; what will they do without me; what will I do without the daily interactions with people on the job; how will we pay the bills; and what will I do with all this free time; I finally came to grips with being a “has been” and moved on to being a “whatever I what to be." It took some time, but I came to realize there is more to life than a “perfectly good job” that requires 12 to 14 hour work days; I learned to accept they, the job, will get along just fine if not better without me; I still miss the job specific interactive

There are moments in life that define how I have seen the world. Such moments tend to present themselves in ways that I may have never imagined, and in times beyond human control. Ironically enough, the most vivid and life-altering moments in my life have occurred more than once at Silver Birch Ranch. Silver Birch Ranch (SBR for short) is first and foremost a church camp. Every summer since the end of 7th grade, I have endured the endless six hour drive to Wisconsin. For the first few years at SBR it was the same camp I have come to love; However, just different people and different cabins. That was until the summer of 2015; SBR began to offer opportunities for campers to experience something extra special apart from the traditional Silver

Back in 8th grade like a lot of teens I became really distant from school and my work ethic became something atrocious. I felt this way about school because the mind set I was in had me thinking that most of school was useless and how was this going to help me. My friends were an extremely big part of my life so I would often put them first. My attitude was bad towards my parents and that stopped after 8th grade year but the bad habits continued. This was until last year when I finally realized that in the real world you can’t just ignore what you have to do. My parents had shown and told me what was going to happen and I really didn’t want to go down that road. I feel like the two people who impacted my life so much were my parents even when my dad was deployed and my mom trying to hold a job through a bad series of events. I knew that I didn’t want to feel the pain that my dad feels having to work in the military which he has slowly started to dislike. I also

I have an addiction to winning. Victory means out playing my opponent with my fighting skills. Victory means satisfaction. I have won thousands of matches in Super Smash Brothers, and I have learned the ins and outs of the game: when to edgeguard and when to punish my opponent’s mistakes. However, I was not always a talented Smash player like I am today . I started out like any beginner, and refined my skills by competing in tournaments and learning from those who were more experienced than me in the game.

When I was in third grade, my parents separated. Although it was only temporary and they got back together within a year, it was still the most difficult time in my life. Looking back at it now, I know the only way anyone got through those arduous months was because of my older sister, Elysha. After my father left us for a few months, my mother was heartbroken; she hardly ate or left the house except to work. It was like she was Katniss’ mother from The Hunger Games after Katniss’ father died in the mines. Like Katniss, my sister took over responsibility when my mother became momentarily incapable. At just 16 years old, my sister would take care of my brother and I while juggling a part time job, rigorous track and field practices and meets,

It was my fourth grade year. It was between 2009-2010. I was eight going on nine.

At the young undeveloped age of 17 I decided to be independent. However at the age of 17 I also learned that I wasn't ready to be independent. Being still in high school, and not meeting eye to eye with my family created a sense of direction that I believed I could attain. What most people don't do until college or even after college, I had done. I managed to move out in a impulsive manner. Statistically, most people move out between the ages of 18-25, I convinced myself that one year wouldn't make a real difference, it was only a year, or so I imagined.

The day started off like every other day of our vacation. We woke up at 6 o’clock, ate breakfast, then headed outside to do our daily chores. Me and my friends, Olivia, Michael, and Ryan all decided to take a vacation out to a dude ranch in Wyoming because we all thought it would be a good idea to get away from the stress of college. Little did we know that our vacation was about to take a turn for the worst. We had just finished moving the cows into the field closest to the barn when we heard a bloodcurdling scream come from inside one of the cabins. We quickly dismounted our horses and Ryan and Olivia took the horses back to the barn while me and Michael rushed to where the cabins were located to figure out where the scream had come from.

With everything that happened along the trail, nothing would be as impactful as the bonfire. I ended the trail covered in dirt looking like I had been in a war zone, and smelling like a 5th grade boy’s gym class, yet very proud of my accomplishments. That night we had a bonfire to celebrate our victory. Everyone who finished that day was standing in a huge circle around the bonfire. Someone gave us a speech on how we will always have this place in our hearts and how when we get home, we will be different people. They asked us to stay quiet for a little bit, so we can let the experience soak in and to think about what this place means to us. I realized at the moment my life changed forever. I could hear the crackling of the