Personal Narrative: My Life Changing Experience

Until I walked onto the stage to take a bow, I didn’t realize that I just danced, acted and sang a solo. It took me a long time to get to that fifth grade Christmas play where I wasn’t shy anymore. Due to the fact that I wasn’t Darth Vader anymore, so I didn’t need a mask strapped onto my face to breathe at night. Asthma, respirators and surgeries were what my childhood consisted of and I would have time to, at most, socialize with my family. Years after my final surgery, my currently bubbly-self erupted from within and many of my friends never knew how I was before.

I haven’t been alive for too long and I’ve lived a pretty normal life though I do know of one specific event that changed me forever. On January 12 2010 I came home from school like every other kid in Haiti. It was a completely normal day. My mom was cooking in the kitchen, my aunt was holding my little sister while watching TV, my dad wasn’t home yet and I was by myself in the living room playing games on my dad’s computer. Then out of nowhere I hear a deep low loud rumbling noise. Right when I start to wonder what the noise was, the shaking starts. Being a normal eleven year old kid I just sat there in shock and fear and just watched as my whole world came crashing down around me. Paintings, vases silverware, my moms china set, they were

When I was 13 years old, my parents started to think about moving to United States because my dad was already working here for a company. We started all the immigration related process which took a while to end. When I was 14, one day I came back from school and my parents told me we were moving to US in 2-3 months. When I heard it first, I was happy, but later I started thinking about how I will be leaving everything behind. My family, friends and neighbors whom I have been with since I was little, I will be leaving all of them in a few months. As the date approached closer, we started to pack more and more things. There was

I just pulled in the drive way from a long weekend vacation. I unlock the trunk and find that my bags are not in there. Did I leave them at my hotel or the airport I thought to myself. Well I guess I'm heading back to the airport and see if they're there. I jumped into my small blue car and drove off. What I didn't notice whenever I left was my side door to my house was slightly open. I guess I'll deal with that when I get back home. I drove for at least an hour when I felt something shake underneath my car. I couldn't stop, I was in the middle of the highway at this point. I decided to keep going, I was almost to the airport. About 15 minutes later I arrived at the airport terrified what was underneath my car.

In order to understand how I got to where I’m today, and why I have made the choices that I made, I need to tell you where and how this journey started. Twenty years ago I was a wife, mother of three girls, owned a nice home in a small town and had a secure job working at United Parcel Service (UPS). Even so, after an injury at work, I very rapidly got addicted to pain medication which turned my world upside down. In a very short time I lost my job, my kids, and my husband and my home and began a six year struggle with addiction that included several arrests, incarceration, probation, and three different treatment programs that finally ended on October 2, 2001.

this point my body was exhausted and my energy felt like it had been sucked out of me. I kept trying to talk back to the crew members when I was questioned about anything. At first I could hear myself completely sounding fine responded to a question but I kept getting weird looks from the crew. They asked me "What's wrong, you aren't making words out." This started to scare me so I kept trying to talk then I could realize I wasn't forming words and my mouth was also not moving with the pace I was used to. I started to freak out because I could only communicate with myself at this time and all I could do was yell at myself for not stoping this before. I kept going but then the shaking started. This affected all of my actions because I couldn't act like a shark attack victim who was unconscious while shaking. I tried to stop it but it got the point where it was uncontrollable.

Corins Pov~ After I got done eating my food I got dressed in a pare of worn jeans that had holes in them from numerous things, and a old t-shirt that i have cut the sleeves out of. Then I put on my combat boots, braded my hair, and found my headphones. Then I ran out my door and down the stairs praying that no one saw me. Im not running away or anything Im just going to explore the grounds a little and take my dirt bike out for a spin.

The everyday struggle of having no sight or hearing in it of itself is a challenging experience. To gain success in anything she had to work 100 times harder than any other pupil, to create stories she had to endure the tedious process of rewriting thoughts countless times prior to putting a single word on paper due to the fear of plagiarism. Everything that was thrown at Helen she learned how to fight through it; in my opinion, I believe that all these experiences conditioned her into stronger and an undoubtably driven woman. Nevertheless her strength and phenomenal work ethic did not come easy to Helen, it took years upon years to bypass her anger. Personally I don’t think Helen ever stopped evolving into a better friend and person. If I had to define her most apparent change in her life, I would choose her transition from being uneducated to having the ability to communicate her thoughts and feelings.

He ran into the house screaming for my mother with tears flowing down his eyes. That was the first time I saw my dad cry. He had no visible injuries, so what was wrong? My mind was so fixated on that question that I didn’t even notice my parents leaving until my mom shouted, “I’m taking your dad to the hospital!” Then the door closed. I was alone, in the middle of the night unable to fathom what could’ve possibly happened to send him to the ER. Hours passed without me receiving a call, eventually I fell asleep with tears falling on my pillow, hearing the sounds of my brothers unwittingly sleeping in the next room.

While let’s start from the beginning of high school which is freshman year. Freshman year the challenges, that I was getting used to, doing the work on my own. Also I had to get reacquainted with my old friends, because for eighth-grade in middle school I left my school and went to a different state, then for

My Mom and I are on our way home on a late Sunday afternoon from shopping and soon getting ready for a great family dinner. We call my grandparents, “Hello! How are you doing honey?” They say to my mother as they don’t know I’m in the car and listening.

Waking up at five in the morning is not enjoyable for most fourteen-year-olds, but for seven months, I gladly rose to the squabble of chickens who wanted their morning meal. I grew up as the youngest, with two older sisters whom I idolized. Because of my siblings, I was automatically deemed childish and had little responsibility given to me. Arriving as a surprise christmas gift, thirteen two-day-old chicks left me speechless when they appeared at my house. I was thrown head first into guardianship and had real responsibility for the first time in my life as I became the sole caretaker of thirteen chicks.

Moving from place to place not much other than family remain constant and that too takes a different shape with time and makes me both accustomed to change and more importantly, prepared for it. Moving every few years is a gift and a curse, giving you a clean slate when you both need it and when you do not want it. It is always difficult to move away from good friends, teaching me to remember all those who left a mark on me .

There are drastic events that occur throughout our lives that we recognize to change us individually. It could be something as big as getting married, or as simple as buying our first car. Two people could make a decision to be wedded, and each person would have to adjust to the others living style. When I first bought my car I found a new sense of freedom, but there are always certain consequences to driving a car. I have to take consideration of other people on the road, because my choices on the road may make life-changing effects on somebody else. Drastic events are the most obvious examples of something that changes our lives, however, the most important thing to change my life isn’t an event. It is the people who help guide me through the events. Without our friends and loved ones, we wouldn’t have a reason to create and enjoy our life changing events.

Every chapter of my story has medicine in some form. In some, its presence is all encompassing, a life changing singularity. In others, it hides behind anecdotes, quietly shaping my dreams and passions. The quiet moments gave me direction; the loud gave me dedication and reason.