Personal Narrative Analysis

There is a saying where I’m from “American by birth, Southern by the grace of god.” I’m from the south. Mobile, Al to be exact, being from mobile has made me who I am. I’m just a simple country boy, I like the quiet things in life. It’s certain southern values or tradition that I still use as principles in my day to day life. Who I am truly is about where I’m from.

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.

Today my classmates and I took a trip to the Cherokee Reservation about an hour away from Warren Wilson college’s campus. It was most certainly worth the drive, for I have never been to a reservation before and was highly looking forward to learning about a culture, that honestly, I did not, and still do not, know enough about. In my public school education, from what I remember, my exposure to Native American studies in elementary school was primarily during Thanksgiving time, with storybooks and cartoons on bulletin boards of the Native Americans so graciously welcoming the pilgrims. As I got older, lesson plans became slightly more honest, explaining how we forced them out of their homes, treated them unfairly and discriminated against them,

“Where are you from?” has been the defining question of my life, mainly because I do not have an answer for it. Growing up, this question brought me anxiety and frustration, and constantly being the new kid meant that I had to answer it frequently. I learned to assess the situation to see what answer was most appropriate. “I am from America” worked when talking to locals or non-American classmates; “I am from Colorado” was used for Americans who wanted more detail; “I’ve moved around a lot” was saved for people who expressed genuine interest, but I gave my truest answer the least even though it meant the most: “A lot of places.”

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.

A time that a strongly held belief of mine was challenged, was when I stumbled upon an article that spoke of a fusion of religion and science. Growing up in a heavy Christian household and going to a very large church in Michigan, my life was filled with everything Christian, including the idea that evolution was not real. While in kindergarten and middle school I had been told to listen to teachers explain scientific ideas such as evolution, and natural selection, but to not believe them to be true, because God made everything and as such there would be no need for evolution or natural selection to fix things. For many years I followed this belief learning, but not truly understanding material, as I was raised to just take in the knowledge

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.

A reoccurring circumstance in my life that I have been apart of for the last couple of years is competing on a cross-country team. For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit-by-bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level. Racing for me hasn’t always been this crystal clear. When I first started running there were the wind sprints, suicides, mile runs, max-out days, and the months of conditioning that made me wonder why as athletes we keep giving a 110 percent day in and day out.

For the first six years of my life, I was a content child who enjoyed the companionship of a younger brother and had little to no worries. Then one day in August, my family decided that it was time to move again. This time our destination was Keene Texas, a rather small city whose only notable feature was a modest Seventh Day Adventist University.

Traditional wisdom and modern science both argue for a full sleep schedule for all ages, but, more importantly, a sleep schedule of approximately nine hours for teenagers. Even rest outside of sleep is held as being of utmost importance, since “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” However, there are points in a person’s life, especially for the modern teen seeking advanced placement after secondary school, where it is considered reasonable to trade some amounts of rest for extra work. But I, the idealistic teenager I am, rejected the word “some” as being too compatibilist for my taste and, instead, challenged Jack for the position as dullest, yet highest graded, boy.

My summer wasn’t the best but I had fun. First off I came back from a vacation in Custer. I came home on June 2, 2015. When I returned home, I decided I go get a job for the summer so I won’t be too bored and start to think negatively. I went to city park a lot during the summer because some of my friends and I were playing basketball. I also didn’t like that I had to deal with my mom being in the hospital. She was in a very bad condition until finally she got to come home and now I’m just putting stress on her.

The fourth chapter is almost a continuation of chapter three. I this chapter it looks at the 50:50 nation more as a whole rather than the individuals and there almost equal views. IT first talks about sorting and how this has brought the views of polarization into new light. A few decades ago many people were of different parties, such as a democrat with some conservative views and visa versa. In years since there has been two ways to take the information from here. The first is sorting, which is a real think, it is when people are starting to identify purely as there party without many adjectives. All this does is nicely sort everyone into the respective categories. When looking through a biased polarized lenses people are not seeing the settling

Have you ever felt stuck in a place that you wanted to leave so badly? But your habits and broken foundation you come from make you feel comfortable… while your mind and conscience is telling you that that place is not where you are destined to prosper and live to your full potential. Well I have been feeling that way since I was taken away from my parents by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). I remember that night in our 2 bedroom apartment like it was a scary movie I’d never forget. That was the last night my sisters and I lived with my parents for almost three years. The rest of this essay will depict how I’ve endured many trials throughout my life and how now I am on a journey toward triumph.

I was born twenty-eight years old. Ever since I was little I had to take care of others, make my own meals, do my own laundry, worry about how I was doing in school, and take care of myself, although I didn’t have much time for the last one. I was born an adult.