Personal Narrative: Hitting The Books

Growing up with a father in the military, you move around a lot more than you would like to. I was born just east of St. Louis in a city called Shiloh in Illinois. When I was two years old my dad got the assignment to move to Hawaii. We spent seven great years in Hawaii, we had one of the greatest churches I have ever been to name New Hope. New Hope was a lot like Olivet's atmosphere, the people were always friendly and there always something to keep someone busy. I used to dance at church, I did hip-hop and interpretive dance, but you could never tell that from the way I look now.

Over my years of school, one big influence on me has always been sports. Ever since a young age, I have always enjoyed playing and watching sports. In my four years in high school, I have fell in love with the sport of lacrosse.

I woke up and took one bite out of my pop tart but that one bite was all I could eat. My legs were shaking, and my heart was pounding. My dad told me, “It is a true honor to even make it this far so go out there and have some fun.” Once I heard this statement, I knew I was ready to go. I arrived at school and boarded the bus. The car ride was an hour and fifteen minutes of hearing the squeaking of the wheel on the bus. My teammates were getting their heads ready for the big game.

There I was on the block next to the High Bar. It was about 5:00 at night when my coach told me to do a Kip. As I got up on the bar my nose filled with the smell of chalk. I started to swing, and as I came out of my half turn I looked good. Everything seemed fine but as I came to the part of the Kip where I have to pull my legs up to the bar, I slammed my shins into the bar. My momentum was stopped and I dropped on to the mat, missing the Kip. I felt like I had let down my coach and I had let down myself too. That day I experienced failure. That failure made me want my Kip even more so I worked harder and had support from my teammates.

Growing up in a family of six, there was never a shortage of people to read to me, the only shortage that existed was my ability to understand and appreciate the story in front of me. I was always on the move and the sedentary act of reading a book never appealed to my childish motives. Coupling my inability to hear well and my stagnant progress in school, I was quickly falling behind. With most of my childhood dedicated to the fantastical world I had created, I had no time to listen to someone else’s story. I would not continue on this way though, for my mom, noticing my lack of literacy skills, made it her effort to divulge in me the wonders of someone else’s world, each world becoming a part of my own.

Transcending boundaries takes hard work, perseverance, and courage. In life, we face a plethora of problems on a daily basis. Most are insignificant but every person has come across a problem that has cause distress. I faced many boundaries throughout my life, but the boundaries that have affected my life the most are living in single parent home and facing my mother’s new ailment. These adversities shaped me into the person I am today. With my perspective on life, I believe that not only will I spread my positive influence on others at Wake Forest University, but throughout the whole world.

I read a book when i was 4 years old, you are probably surprised if not then I don't really care what you say. I was looking the paper that has the prompt for this assignment, So I have to write about an important event that shaped me as a reader. So then I found myself reminiscing about an event an event that set the stage for me as a reader.

Of the memoirs in the packet, number I was my favorite and the one that stuck the most in my head. Now it may have just stayed in my head because it was the first, but I still believe that it was the most exciting one in the packet. I really like stories that start out like any other day, like it could for anyone, but then it changes drastically and all of a sudden your heart is beating fast and you feeling the adrenaline as if the events of the story are happening to you and not the character. I can somehow relate to the author at the end of the memoir because I too wonder if I could handle myself in a dangerous situation. I would like to think that I could but the occasion has never arose where I could prove myself. It was amazing how the

The fights. The words. The looks. I can't handle it. I just want to hide from the all of the people who seem to just want to fight with me. I lay in bed and read blocking out everything going on. My mom will yell at me to get out of my room. She doesn't listen when I try and tell her why I hide in my room. I do not want it to get worse. I am told to smile and act happy and sometimes I will just do it because I don't want to fight, but other times I will put up a fight. I know that I will never be like other people my age. Adults talk to me once and say I am the most mature person my age that they have ever met.

The cars continue to zoom by me as I begin to cry. The acrid smell of burning tires and exhaust fumes fill my nose. A horn honks, prodding me to cross, but my own indecision forbids me. My tears only make seeing harder, and now I’m crying both at that fact that I’m immobilized by fear, and at my own futility. I’m a chubby, little eight-year-old girl standing at the edge of the curb, trying cross the street. I am at the final intersection before my school, but all the crosswalk guards are gone. Earlier that morning I woke up late, so I had to ride my bike to school. The cars seem to be going at an impossible speed and veering toward me. I stand there for five minutes, contemplating whether I can cross, before I finally give up and walk back home in shame.

My reading is a different type of reading, with that said I am a different type of reader. As a junior in highschool I started the Rot & Ruin series by Jonathan Maberry. That is a series that sparked the inner reader inside me. I moved my reading level up all through the year and finally finished the year with a 11.8 reading level, as a junior I was pleased with that reading score. I came into senior year working on the third book in the Rot & Ruin series, Flesh & Bone. After that book we started book clubs; I read Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. I didn’t enjoy that book, although it challenged my reading skills. In the book Tatiana De Rosnay had the book bounce around between two different characters. That made the book hard to follow, although I feel the book helped me open up and focus more on the reading. After book clubs came to a conclusion we started in on the adventurous love mess, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This challenging read provoked me to read harder; I took my resources and studied, I tried to get better. Mary Shelley had themes throughout this book, the themes had me really thinking about the text. Pressing forward to the end of first semester and the middle of my Senior year, I now can say I read at a 12.9 level. I am beyond

Throughout my life, I have had drastic changes of my personality and of my image. Obviously everyone changes, but I feel my changes are a lot more unique and crucial. I definitely was not alone on this journey. My friends and family were right beside me to help guide me on the right path. Success rarely comes alone, and I am thankful that I had people on my side. Friends and family weren’t the only thing building myself. A lot of credit is due to education, teachers, and books like Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Beowulf that I have read throughout my educational career.. All in all, I could not have become the man I am today without the influences and guidance I was given to help make me

To accomplish great things,we must not only act,but also dream; not only plan,but also believe.-Anatole France Most individuals plan ,but don't get a chance to accomplish and complete the steps for their life. There's obstacles and barriers that trap the person from moving forward and breathing. We have witnessed people who have climbed the Barriers and jumped over the obstacles, but the ones who didn't doesn't mean they didn't want to , but from the lack of encouragement, and the aspects of their life style they didn't have enough strength to. It just takes a little more time for others to complete. I'm a example of both individuals. I have Barriers , but I won't stop until I make my dream a reality and being able to touch it.

Bare feet slammed against the sun bathed sidewalk as we huffed heavy breaths, going on with our escapade. Tired of adults, my sister, cousin, and I decided to hit the road.

On our break we walk around the park to see what they had. It was my first time volunteering in stern grove and I didn’t realize how big and dark the park is. There were carnival rides, food trucks, shows, crafts, cemetery, and haunted house. We sat down to watch people sing, dance and magic shows. Then we walk through the cemetery and went inside the haunted house. It was pretty fun because I love going to these events but I haven’t gone to one in a long time.