Personal Narrative : Personal Essay

I was ten, the most terrifying event I had been through was riding the little dragon roller coaster at the fair, but that night changed it all. The fear that started in my head spread like wildfire to the rest of my body from the tips of my fingers to the bottoms of my toes. My heart was racing so fast that it could have beat Usain Bolt in a 100m dash. Stop, drop and roll, three steps that should have come naturally, but instead I froze, looked down at my yellow and black checkered flannel in complete terror, fearing for my life.

I had always assumed that my legs were strong and that I had decent muscle control, however, this thought was proven wrong at the beginning of my junior year in high school due to a detrimental injury. It was the first game of fall league for basketball, and within the first five minutes I had succumbed to an injury. Tearing my ACL and Meniscus has taught me to continue improving on my strength, not let this one injury keep me down, and to keep a positive mindset.

Confidence isn’t everything, right? Wrong. Okay maybe it’s not EVERYTHING, but I believe that confidence is something everyone needs. Being able to appear strong and content with yourself to just about anyone and everything out there is key to even the slightest bit of success.

Plav, Montenegro is a small, poor village in Europe. It is the place where my parents were born and raised. Even though I was born in Brooklyn, New York, I feel I was raised in Plav, Montenegro, too. Growing up in America, where the culture and traditions are so different from that of Montenegro, I was faced with the obstacle of trying to become part of mainstream America while maintaining my own culture.

When I was younger, my mom used to play old comedy tapes in the car when we would drive

You know, it is funny when we recall memories. We have a path ahead of us, and we like to look back where the roads were simple or easy or rough or all over the place. But one of my fondest, best memories was not on any road, far from it… a good thousand feet above. I was about thirteen when I joined Air Cadets, and I joined mostly because I wanted to fly. Would I do what I did again? Yes. In a heartbeat.

“And here it is Susan. Your new home,” said the female case worker just a little bit too happily. The “new home” she had spoken of was a shabby looking apartment in Harlem, New York City. “Go on deary,” she said yet again in that all too bright voice,” your new foster mother will be waiting for you.” As soon as Susan had stepped out of the car, she had sped away in a hurry. She could feel the cool early-October breeze on her skin and shivered. This only added to the feelings of nervousness she had about meeting her new foster mother, Betty Walters. “Well,” she thought ,”it’ s now or never.”

She is just a person, one of us but different. Wanting to be the best and to be recognized for it. Giving it her all anywhere and anytime, always putting her best foot forward.

“ Wake up!” my mom says, as I lay in my bed. Then, I get up and put on my clothes. After I finish putting on my clothes, I jump into my bed, again. 5 minutes later, my mom yells, “Wake up!” again. So I brushed my teeth and went downstairs for breakfast.

Despite growing up in a family of musicians and having played music my entire life, I didn’t learn about my exceptional ear until quite recently. During a guitar lesson sophomore year, my instructor and I were watching a music video on YouTube. I’d never seen it before, so he was quite shocked when I told him the exact tuning the guitarist was in – all by ear.

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them”, (Bible Proverbs 3:27 NIV). Even in the midst of your heartache, it is important to help others. To love is to be selfless in the presence of someone else’s troubles.

It is too many times to count that I find my mind wandering far, far away from my most apparent struggles. My calm and cool composure is one that I uphold with pride. But little do they know, dear reader, is that I often find myself sinking, in the complexity of what are my thoughts and experiences. I am currently much too deep in the water, it almost seems easier to swim down. Drowning in your own head is not pleasant, my friend, not at all.

It was a peaceful and quiet Sunday evening on the day of September 25, 2016. I was riding my bike home on a small road just west of the town of Kimberly. I had went to a Maverick gas station to get an Arizona Iced Tea and a bag of Lay's Jalapeño Kettle Cooked Chips. As I was riding my bike along, I noticed there wasn't many cars on the opposite side of the road, so I switched to the opposite bike lane. This is a decision I would come to regret.

Don’t speak. Don’t say a word. You are too ugly to be smart. You should wear makeup. Just kidding, even makeup won’t help That. Why are you so ugly.

I see a lot of the same quote by Oscar Wilde, “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” The thing is, it’s frightening to be myself when people like me are only 4% of the world with 61% against us. LGBTs have a tough life, but it’s ours.