Personal Narrative: E. T.

It's a Friday afternoon, I plan to go to Great Wolf Lodge in an hour with my church. I see one of my friends so he says to his mom “ Hey, that's my friend” I said “Crap” So I go inside to sign in to go and see my friends just sitting in a corner on a big sofa. We are listening to music and just talking then a green bus comes.

It is true in life that everything happens for a reason. It is also true to say that sometimes it is all about being in the right place, at the right time. There was never a more prominent example of this than a traumatic summers evening, only a few years ago.

The rest of what I personally think and experienced of the Big E is that it is a good place to see various country people that I like to see at concerts. Its a place to find Christmas gifts for people. The exhibit where I can see real life bears such as a Grizzly through a big picture window is very cool. People can look at the bears from close distance. My Favorite state buildings to go to are Vermont and Rhone Island. I like the Vermont one because I usually can get Cheddar cheese out of Vermont there. I go to the Rhone Island one because I have frequently been there on day trips to their beaches. So I am just a fan of the place. Those things are what I like to experience about the Big E and for all I know is what people similarly go to

An experience that has influenced my work and academic goals has been my family. My wife and I have one son, who departed for college this past weekend. His departure was a very emotional event for us because we did just about everything together (hockey, trips, etc). Four years ago, we brought in four siblings under foster care, which is the main topic for this essay. Four years ago, my wife and I were hoping to adopt one child and we were hoping to find a girl that needed what is commonly called a “forever home”. This process was extremely difficult as the system is not easy to navigate (I could be more blunt with this description but I won’t here). After many trials and tribulations with the foster/adoption system in Alaska, I had resigned

I had always been a “big” kid. That is what everyone said about me ever since I could remember being called “Big E” from my family, just like the hockey player Eric Lindros. Because of that I never had a problem with the terminology. In fact, I rather enjoyed being called that because it made me feel powerful and respected, like no one was going to have the nerve to pick on me because of my size. Other terms like “husky” and “big-boned” never incited any sort of hatred towards me or the people who said it (seeing as how they were always used in a comedic fashion). I loved getting that extra peace of steak at the end of dinner or the last piece of pizza because everyone knew I wanted it, even though I truly shouldn’t have had it.

I stare at the TV with incomplete fascination, my pencil tightly gripped in between my fingers.

It was a rainy afternoon-turned-evening and I was faced with the struggle of rummaging up something to eat. I was alone, and cooking for one is never that exciting (to me), I find a sweet pleasure in cooking for others, witnessing their satisfaction with each bite as your sign of endearment. Before I lamented at the thought of cooking for myself, a recipe popped into my mind, shifting my thoughts to excitement. It's one that I'd been wanted to try and just so happened to be the perfect meal to brighten up this grey day, plus it was simple, like really simple.

Some of the hardest things in life make you realize what you really appreciate. One such instance took place in a remote part of Wyoming far away from everything and everyone. However, such an experience made one couple closer and taught them how valuable family really is.

A horrendous thing that happened to me was the time when I broke my foot. The positive side of that is that I learned my lesson. I was at my grandparents house about 3 years ago, and my little cousins and I were playing tag. I then leaped off 2 steps and landed on the rocks that were a few feet from the stairs. My foot started hurting horribly and my parents came to check on me. I limped all the way to the couch and had to put ice on it. We then left and I went straight home my parents did not think that it was broken or sprained. For the next 3 weeks I had went and was running and jumping on it my foot hurt continuously, especially when I had to run the 3 miles. So finally, my parents brought me to the hospital and the doctors gave me an

All I could think about was how bad my legs hurt. I had scratches from branches that tore away at my skin on my arms and legs, a terrible headache and my clothes had so many rips and tears that I couldn’t remember how I got. I couldn’t remember anything, not my name, what had happened or anything. I just didn’t know. All I knew is that I had been stumbling through the woods for quite some time. Well until I came to a road with tons of cars coming from every direction. I stepped one foot at a time onto the noisy road filled with commotion and so abruptly it all went black. I woke to nearly blinding lights shining above me and looked around to see the room of a hospital. As I tried to sit up I experienced a piercing pain that lasted until I finally

The universe sometimes chuckles at people who make plans. Not many teenagers expect relocation during high school, particularly to start off their senior year. I was one of those teens that should have. I always enjoyed my sheltered existence in a protective bubble in a place that I had lived in my entire life. The universe not only chuckled at me and my plans, it laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

It was cold on the night of November 14th. My friend, her boyfriend and I were walking to Walmart, planning on getting cake ingredients for my friend’s grandmother’s birthday. On our way there my surroundings seemed rather quiet for it being Angola. I felt like something was wrong like something had happened. But I continued to toss the feeling aside and just walked the path that leads to the parking lot. I couldn’t help but look in between the trees that held pitch black darkness. I was worried that was where troubles may lie, I was wrong. My real problem all started with a simple phone call.

When I was 14 years old, my dad and I went rock climbing in the mountains with a friend and his son. It was the first time I had been rocking climbing anywhere outdoor. We had to hike in to the point where we could start climbing. We got to the top of the mountain and it was beautiful! On the hike down, my dad slipped in the snow and slid down the mountain. He hit a pile of rocks and broke his leg. I, being 14 and completely inexperienced, had to run down the mountain as fast as I could, while connected to a rope, to get to my dad and assess the situation. He dad had to spend the night on the mountain with our friend, while me and our friend's son were taken home by complete strangers at 3 in the morning. THe next day, I went into shock. I

People everywhere go through a lot of different experiences in their lives. These experiences could vary in importance, but all such experiences take a part in shaping a person. In my life I have gone through many experiences which shaped me in certain ways: some good, some bad. The experience I wish to reflect upon is one which taught me a good lesson. This experience which I would like to reflect on, taught me patience and gave me a lesson which I was able to learn from.

When I was younger, my uncles to joke about the fact that I was americanized; that I didn’t know how life really was back in the motherland. I would just laugh and tell them to leave me alone. Then, I saw what they meant when we went to Africa in 2009.