Personal Narrative : My Christmas Gifts

Last summer I went on a cruise The Bahamas with my family. This trip was very special to me because it helped me to come out of my shell a bit. While on the boat I experienced all sorts of new things. I would not have had a good trip if I had not been adventurous. It was important for me to be adventurous because it led to many new experiences.

When our flight was coming to an end I looked out the window of the airplane and saw a lot of ocean. It was a pretty blue and very clear in most parts, to the right I could see we were approaching the island and I could not have been more eager to be off the plane and in the warm weather.

One sunny day in South Carolina, my family and I spent the day at a beach called Isle of Palms. We all decided to go since it was our only free day from my dance competition. We woke up extra early, just so we could spend the entire day there. By about 12:30 in the afternoon, we were all tanning and one of my dance friends showed up. she was really excited to get in the water, so I went in with her.

Our family began traveling to Maine when I was around 10 .It's a gorgeous place but the water is frigid, and it took a couple of trips before I was willing to go in the water. I was finally inspired to do this because of a beach I found. It

I pay it forward in my hometown by always willing to help others whenever they are going through a hard time. I spend my evenings or early mornings attending youth group with my church. Throughout the years I have made gift baskets for people in my community who are sick and participated in the giving tree around Christmas time, which is where I pick a family who is in need, and provide them with Christmas presents. I have went Christmas Caroling with my church around Christmas time to families homes in my community as well. During the Easter time I have helped out at my church by coloring Easter Eggs with little kids and helping clean up afterwards. I can see myself paying it forward at USF and in the future by continuing to attend church

Recalling my life as a junior in high school does not give me a great deal to look back on. But one intent that has always stood out to me, even as a young girl, is to have a positive impact on someone's life and make a difference, whether big or small. But semi-recently, my maturing mind and actions did not understand the difference between a positive or negative impact on a friend's happiness. After too long of a time not discerning my mistake of using bullying to change this friend, I finally recognized the negative impact that my actions were causing. This led me to search for a new course of action to mend my mistake. My then 15-year-old mind eventually understood that the words used as an attempt to fix a very close friend did nothing

I was in the 5th grade when I heard the very first remark, ” Rudolph the red nosed reindeer”. It was 6th-grade year, that I overheard from an assemblage that my nose was “huge”. It was 7th-grade year when they began to say it to my face, when it was no longer a mere whisper, but rather something I could hear a mile away. It was 8th-grade year, that a mutual friend told me the reason why my crush didn’t ask me out to the dance, was due to my nose being too big and it just made me “ugly”.

My family and I were in the US Virgin Islands. A lot of our family was with us: grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. One particular day, we drove to a beach called Salt Pond Bay. We spent the morning having fun in the sand and snorkeling. Then, after a long hike up a trail, we ate lunch and set out our rafts into the ocean.

I was four years old and my family and I were driving to Disney World. Oh, how excited I was, dancing around in my car seat, my big, toothy smile never faltering for even a second. We passed humongous palm trees, some with coconuts, some without. The big, green leaves like an umbrella. We passed a long beach that seemed like it was never-ending, and my mouth was agape in shock. Even if I did live in Texas, the beaches were never this beautiful. It got boring for me just looking at the scenery for hours, so I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

After the great two days at Disney, it was finally time to see the ocean. I was so beyond excited. I had been waiting fifteen years for this. We only had a short thirty minute drive to the ocean, but about fifteen minutes into the drive you could see the ocean in the distance. Talk about an “omg” moment. We got parked and I ran to the beach. It was exactly like I had pictured it. My uncle talked before we left for vacation about how bad the california ocean is in comparison to the Gulf, and apparently, almost anywhere else. But when I got there, I didn't care, I had absolutely nothing to compare it to. I was in love. We

It was the summer of fourth grade. My parents had promised me a trip to paradise. I wanted to go to the ocean and see all the beautiful marine life. I had been anticipating this since the day the trip was booked. I began to look up everything that there is to know about the ocean. The types of animals that live there, the temperature of the water, which was quite warmer than I had anticipated. The most intriguing part was the marine life. It was as if the ocean was a picture that humans can go into to. That is how beautiful the ocean can be all the time. I remember counting down the days on my snoopy calendar. My parents told me stories of the time that they went to the ocean and they saw the beauty first hand. They wanted me to have the same experience as they did when they were my age. The real reason that I wanted to go on this trip was to learn as much as I can about marine life. At the time I really wanted to become a marine biologist. That was my passion in life.

Before I entered the hotel I closed my eyes and walked in. I was greeted to the new smells and the atmosphere of what it was like to be in the Bahamas. About a half hour later, my family and I were checked into our hotel room. Our room was a normal sized room with a balcony that viewed the park and ocean. After we were settled, we went downstairs to the beach. I took my first step into the crystal clear water and immediately jumped in. The water was so warm, that I did not have to take time to get used to it. Checked that off my list.

Virtual Reality There are 32 wires hooked up to my body. 6 on my head, 12 on my chest, four on my stomach, four on each arm and one behind each ear. I am wearing a white jumpsuit along with a pair of virtual reality goggles. I am sitting perfectly still in a rigid chair and if I move I’ll have to start all over. Another 2 hours of absolute stillness.

Virtual Reality There are 32 wires hooked up to my body. 6 on my head, 12 on my chest, four on my stomach, four on each arm and one behind each ear. I am wearing a white jumpsuit along with a pair of virtual reality goggles. I am sitting perfectly still in a rigid chair and if I move I’ll have to start all over. Another 2 hours of absolute stillness.

The memorable mornings of waking up on a rocking ship in the vast ocean cannot be properly described without experiencing it first. When I look off the balcony of our ship and see rolling waves of deep blue water, I imagine the strange and wonderful creatures of the ocean. The miles and miles straight down into the abyss can only be imagined, yet can never be understood or fathomed by the mind. While the ocean is incredible, so many other things are happening around you on the cruise ship. My family has made so many unimaginable memories on our superb vacations. While the thought of being in the middle of the ocean and going to foreign countries excited me, I was nervous at the same time.