Personal Narrative Analysis

“Good Job keep going, you can do it, run run faster, you got this!” These were the words coming from the audience as I was finishing my last 100 meters in the cold, pouring, rain during sectionals. I was in second place in my heat and my heart was thumping and I couldn't see through the water stains on my glasses, but I heard someone someone breathing hard and their spikes hitting the track as they ran behind me and I knew I had to push even harder.I remembered the rough trading I had in practice and knew I could do it.

We were out for vengeance, and as the first heat came to a close, the three remaining teams lined up. Our team was Brandon Reid starting off the blocks, Isaiah running the second leg, me securing the third, and Bawa trying to end the race in strong fashion. As I loosened my legs up, the gun sounded, and I watched Brandon get off to a quick start. Before I knew it, Isaiah was 10m behind me and was ready to pass the baton. As I grabbed the baton from Isaiah, I noticed I was a few meters behind a kid from Avon. Never, ever again I thought. My legs planted and exploded off the ground in a simultaneous motion. I was like a cheetah chasing after a gazelle. As the wind blew through my cleanly cut hair, I began to close the gap between myself and the man ahead. In the closing 20m, I tried my hardest to catch the Avon kid, but I couldn’t. As I passed the baton to Bawa, my heart sank. As my chin dipped to my chest so I could only notice the ground, I realized I did not run the fastest 100m. At the end of the race, we finished second behind Avon, again. My arms tensed and my stomach dropped. Losing to Avon was the worst possible ending to my track season. However, my head would be picked up by a more important event that followed days after the Founders League Tournament.

I am a runner. One who strives for greatness at every moment and doesn’t give in when things get tough. I have aspirations, dreams, and goals which I will stop at nothing to achieve. Unfortunately for me, the life of a runner is filled with challenges and setbacks and only the best will learn to push through the adversity. My defining moment was the summer before my Junior year, 2016. I had set the goal of becoming All-State in Cross Country, meaning placing in the top 25 of all the runners in the state meet. This is, of course, a prestigious title to have, but I had faith in myself. For the first time in my life, I finally understood that preparation is key and if I fail to prepare, I should prepare to fail

I knew the first couple weeks of practice were going to drag on, but I was ready for whatever workout coach was going to throw at me. Then came meets and the fun really started. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely feeling the nerves, but it didn’t stop me. The first indoor meet was at Buena Vista College and I was in the open 400, the one race I had been training for. I was so anxious to see what my time was going to be that I was shaking. I just kept telling myself, “This is what you worked for. Everything that you have worked for starts showing now.” I ended up getting my PR and winning the race. It was the first of many heart pounding meets. As the season went on, every meet started to count even more and I was getting frustrated because my time wasn’t getting better. After crying to my dad one night after a meet, I realized that what did matter is that I wasn't getting worse either. I was maintaining my time and that counted for something. A couple weeks later I was standing in my blocks at the district meet trying to maintain my nerves. After the hardest 400 of my life, I ended up making it to state and I could not have been

My feet pounded on the uneven ground, each step increasingly difficult. My breath was loud, uneven to my ears. I could see the girl in front of me, her brightly colored uniform becoming smaller as she pulled ahead. It was now or never; if I did not surge now, there was no chance of making it. I took a deep breath and increased my pace, running harder than I ever had before. But it wasn’t enough. I crossed the finish line, grabbing a tree as I struggled to stand, and look at the timer. With a time of 21:42 for the girls varsity 5k race, I knew I had missed my goal, and my season was over.

My parents are very different from each other. We all have different views on thing and school. I myself have only left the state once that was when I was like 2 months old my mom took me to Alabama to see my aunt and uncle and cousin. I love to fish and Longboard. I don't play too many video games. Also I absolutely can't wait unit I don't have to go to school any more. I will end up going to college one way or another because I would like a degree in engineering or something in that nature. I was almost put up for adoption when I went to Alabama. I have 4 brothers and 2 sisters. I only know one of my sisters. My mom lost custody of when I was little. I never met her. She is only like 2 years younger than me. I also play baseball. I have never went hunting or for that matter I have never shot a gun. I own 2 bows 1 for target practice and the other one is for hunting when i get older.

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.

Before the big race all I could do was stare at the stat sheet. So many numbers floating around on the page, putting me in third place! My nerves were getting so bad my teammates wrestled the stat sheet away from me. They didn't want me to psych myself out. I put off warming up as long as I could, not wanting to accept the fact that I was minutes away from racing. My jitters were so high, I couldn't talk, I could barely walk. I was having a nervous attack, no, I was having a track attack!

The rain had been barreling down all morning. This frightened me a great deal, for I was prepared to compete in my first official Cross Country race of the season. I waited for this day I for quite a few months. Unfortunately, previous back-to-back injuries prevented me from fulfilling my dream of running on uneven surfaces. Therefore, I was restricted to only run flat track. I spent all of my summer practicing for this year’s season. Many of my friends and family thought I was irrational for practicing on my time although I knew it would be for a great reason. The transition from flat surfaces to an off road more complex terrain was extremely challenging. There were numerous days that I struggled and just wanted to give up. However, my determination factor would not let me give up. In addition, I

When I made the decision to go to school to obtain my LPN, I was twenty-four years old. I was married with a 3 year old child and worked full time as a Certified Nursing Assistant with Hospice. My husband worked in the union but due to plants closing down in our area, he was laid off, and I was the main financial support for my family. I knew things were not going to be easy but I was determined to be successful, not only for me but for my family. I began the process of enrolling in November 2009 and was all set to begin school in April of 2010. I was beyond excited for this journey to begin. I had a wonderful support system, not only at home but with my co-workers as well and I knew nothing was standing in my way. Fast forward to December

I could not even pay attention in class. My stomach twirled rapidly and I tried not to eat too much. I kept my muscles warm and listened to gospel music all day. I remember the meet like yesterday. Twenty minutes before my last race, my coach approached me with words that I could never forget. “Mariah this is the moment you’ve been waiting on all season. You just qualified for state in 300 hurdles, so I know you are excited, but do not lose that momentum. You still have the 4 by 4 meter relay. So remember everyone who steps on that starting line is very talented, but the best will be the person who fights the hardest to cross the finish line. So go all out or go home. Pump those arms and lift those

Once upon a time, there was an illegal immigrant named Rosa she came from a poor family and her mother left her when she was 4 years old for another man.

I kept running through pain and the second mile approached. The runner inside of me began to lose form and fatigue started to kick in. The sounds of the crackling spikes against the payment was intimidating. I, however was not going to back down this late in the race. As we passed the grassy, flat path my mind started to drift away from the race, the screaming fans, and everything in the race. I started to ask myself is this pain worth it in the end. I went back to the beginning of my training when I remember debating whether or not I was cut out for this line of brutal training and dedication. Everyday this repeatedly played in my mind. I was full of mixed emotions. On one hand, I wanted to be part of the team and form friendships with teammates. Or on the other hand, I would like to relax and concentrate on my studies and my studies. I needed the energy of excitement from the fans to rejuvenate my mindset. I wanted to feel that intense feeling of finishing the

I jogged over to my bag, and as I grabbed my spikes, I heard many of my teammates shout, “Good luck, Haley! You’ve got this!”. I nodded my head and muttered a “Thanks guys” as I quickly took off to go check in. Anxiety was already beginning to fill my stomach. I could feel the tingly sensation that some people called “butterflies” beginning to form. The feeling sunk in my stomach and remained their uncomfortably. “Alright, calm down. I still have 25 minutes till race time”, I thought to myself. Some nerves were good, but the anxiety part was just unnecessary. As I got to the check-in tent, I gave them my name, and returned to the middle of the football field where countless other hurdlers were starting to warm up. I knew who most of my competitors in my heat were going to be. To my left, I could spy a short and skinny girl with long, brown curly hair, a red uniform, and bright blue spikes who was most likely the fastest girl in the race. She was seeded 3rd in state and had been hurdling for years. However, instead of being focused on the competitors, I was focused on hitting the qualifying time that I had been aiming at the whole season. This aspect of the race brought a slight breath of fresh, soothing air to my lungs because it meant the race was in my control and was something I could dictate. I began to set up hurdles to start practicing. As I was striding over my last one, another

A hush fell over the crowd and all eyes were on me. At that point there was no room for error, it was all or nothing. I was ready, I took a breath and went for it, unfortunately five seconds later I had met my match, the ground. I must admit I am not the most coordinated, but do not fret because occurrences such as these happen all the time: track meets, cheer competitions, flat ground. I have a lot of experience with track meets and cheer competitions, and over the years I have noticed an absurd amount of differences and similarities, the most greatest similarity being; if you put in the work, success will follow. I work to be the best all season by running, eating healthy, and pushing myself. Pushing myself towards first place to be exact. I train all season to go to that final competition or final meet to seize the trophy, and take home the title. Now whether or not that actually happens is a whole other story.