Personal Narrative Analysis

It all started with our family sitting at the dinner table with my mom crying, holding crumpled up tissues with black streaks of mascara on it. My dad nervous enough to say, “Your mom has stage four breast cancer.” Those words have stuck in my head clear as a bell for the last eight years. Our faces of curiosity soon turned into fear. As an eight year old I didn’t understand a lot of words grownups said, but those burning words were sharp knifes on my throat.

My mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer when I was in the seventh grade. School just ended and I remember running towards the playground, throwing down my backpack, eager to get on one of the swings. At the same time as I stepped foot on the playground I saw my brother getting out of the car and walking towards me. As I picked up my bag and got closer, I noticed tears in his eyes. I shifted my eyes towards the car and spotted my family all sitting anxiously waiting for me to get in. During the ride home, I kept asking my brother, two sisters and father what was wrong but they would not say a word till we got home. This is when I turned to ask my mother. Although she was smiling, telling me everything will be okay, I saw pain and sadness in her eyes.

One sunny day in the summer of 2012, I was up at my Aunt Jenny’s house when I got the unexpected call from my grandmother. I knew that my mom had health issues but I thought they were all solved when she got the first surgery when she was 14, but I never thought that I was going to nearly lose my mom again from the same situation. It was hard to know that I could have lost her so abruptly. It was extremely hard to get used to my mom being in the hospital and having to learn what I was going to do next in life. I tried to keep myself occupied so I would not have to think about her in the condition she was in but that only made me more depressed than I was to begin with. I did not have any one to talk to about it and I just kept all my feelings inside because I did not want anyone to know how horrible I truly felt. I started to understand for what reason and why it happened when I met to my best friend of four years. Sophie is a big

I moved to the United States with my mom and younger brother when I was 10. My dad was already living in New York at the time so we moved to stay together, leaving everything behind. My most prized possession was a bag of marbles I gave to my friend; I thought I could get it back when I returned.

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.

It was a late night, my family was finishing dinner while I was watching tv. My older sister Kristen ate a chickpea not knowing that she was allergic. Her lip started to swell and my family began to panic. That night we went to the hospital where we found out about her allergies. She is severely allergic to all nuts, shellfish and legumes, which are beans and peas.

I had always assumed that being my Mom meant you would be with me forever. When you received your diagnosis of cancer, I was heartbroken. I suddenly realized that I could lose you. I know you were not scared of dying, but the idea paralyzed me. I could not imagine my life without you. Loneliness came over me as I dealt with our new fate. I watched as your body succumb to the evil face of cancer. Your chestnut hair, sapphire eyes, and a smile that could win the hearts of the world started to wither. Your strength and

There are a few ways in which I have had to make adaptations in my daily life since coming to college. First, I have started setting multiple alarms before going to bed at night. When I still lived at home, my mom would always make sure I was awake in the mornings, so I never had to worry about getting up on my own. Since coming to college, I set a couple of different alarms every day, so I don’t oversleep and miss something important. Second, I have begun using headphones instead of letting things play out loud. I very rarely used headphones before, but the atmosphere here has required me to make this adaptation. Often times, my roommate is doing homework or I am in a loud environment, so in order to ensure that everyone can focus and I can

The biggest risk is not taking any risk in a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks. There is a saying “there is no risk then there is no reward”. You have to understand that living a successful life will depend on the risks you choose to take.

When I was seven years old my family and I move to Reno, Nevada. My parents were hired by three different companies. Months later, it was difficult for us because they were too busy and extremely exhausted from work. My brothers had no choice but to let go of their dreams of not going to college by finding a job. It was hard for them to make that decision, but it was better for all of us. I would never forget when we were kids when my dad always talked about the importance of having an education. We were admired by the displays of degrees of our aunties, uncles, and parents. But having to face a hardship where my parents’ mail was overflowing with due dates was unimaginable. I saw my mom shed a tear and I remember I heard my parents talk that

I ate at the small cafe in our natural foods store for lunch today. When I arrived, it was mostly women with their children eating lunch, which was interesting in itself. Most of the men I saw were just buying groceries, though there were a couple with their families. There was one elderly man eating with his daughter and grandson, and they were all talking with another woman. After he finished eating his sandwich he used a toothpick to clean his teeth. I realized that I have seen my grandfather do this, but I don’t think I have seen a woman ever doing it. If women have something in their teeth they are most likely to go to the bathroom and floss or swish with water. This man had clearly brought toothpicks with him, and I assume it is routine

Speculate a moment: can the universe be justly called infinite? I doubt it. It may not have a perceivable end, but it had a beginning. And its constituent parts certainly have a limited cosmological shelf life. Just like the universe, with so much for us to look forward to, can our potential truly be considered limitless? Perhaps we relate closer to that of comets, sauntering about space till we reach our subsequent conclusion either burning up or colliding with something larger. If anything, we always end up somewhere.

One Year later, I was out picking up mail and checking on the senior, that lived in our building. The senior had their adult children taking care of them, but they worked every day. They hired me to check on their parents after school, I would check to see how they were doing and ask if they needed anything. That was my job every day when I came home from school. For emergencies, Mother had the phone numbers of the children so she could contact them if their loved ones needed medical attention. Because they could not get up and down the stairs, I would bring in their mail. I got paid every Friday, but it was not much. My sisters, brothers, and cousin were like little soldiers as they would stand and wait for me to buy candy for them.

"Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost". I’m definitely not saying I’m in hell at the moment but, the way life makes its twists and turns is truly remarkable; I know this to be true for sure. I grew up in Del Rio, Texas. Born and raised on the small border city, I didn't think much would be different in the rest of the country. I assumed every place had a Whataburger, and a Rudy's; that the majority of people drive trucks and that everybody knows each other. I assumed I'd graduate, go to college, and come back to live life there in Del Rio where my family was. Boy was I in for a rude awakening in 2010.

It was May 17th, 2011, it was a normal school day when my brother and I were told that my mom called to say that she was picking us up early. I was anxious, wondering why we were going home early and breaking our usual routine. When my mom came to get us, the first thing that I noticed was that she didn’t greet us with her usual smile. I was 9 years old, very observant, but not able to sense what was to come. We got into the car, when I asked my mom where we were going hoping