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.

A cliché way to start a personal essay on why someone would want to go to into medicine would go along the lines of “As I stare towards the future with a decision to make, I look at my own personal experiences and the experiences of those around me for guidance.” Afterward, they would premise their argument by talking about at how they look at medicine as an exciting career option because it is a field perpetually at the cutting edge of discovery, continuously opening newer vistas of human thinking, and knowledge. They then would conclude their argument by talking about how the fulfillment provided in healing physical, and psychological wounds, scars, and bruises go beyond the satisfaction produced elsewhere. While this is all good and true

In life do we see that everyone else is wrong or do we not want to admit that we are wrong? In my eyes I don't want to admit that I am wrong because I don't want to seem stupid. I ran into a situation last night during soccer practice that I want to understand where the other people are coming from. In this situation people are saying that a group of us Seniors on the soccer team are favorites and in my eyes I don't see that at all.

My parents are Lori Wenthold and Randy Kerian, and I have one brother, Cody, who is 9. I have nine black, laying chickens, one dog, Butch, who is an eight year old white lab. I also have two cats, one outside and one inside, their names are Buddy and Mittens, and four fish. I have lived near Cresco for twelve years, but last Christmas I moved to a house near Protivin. I have many friends, we all get along, play sports, and hang out together.

Life can be hard when you think you have to be perfect. At home my parents always told me to do my best and they would be happy. Doing your best is one thing, but in my mind, I had to exceed even more. I had a goal to have 100% for all my overall grades. Well if you think about it, I was letting it bother me a little too much.

So there I was a fifteen year old, one ear pressed to the ice cold artificial wood of my bedroom door listening to my mother’s angry, drunken rant. “I just don’t understand why all he ever wants to do is play on his stupid little satan box upstairs. Why can’t he be like a normal boy and want to do something manly like football!!!” I sat there and continued to listen, like an assassin in night waiting to strike, to every disgusted word that erupted from my mother’s alcohol engorged mouth as she explained to my aunt over the phone how she thought of me as a pitiful disgrace. After the longest thirty minutes of my life, I had finally had enough, I kicked open my bedroom door with such force that it came off its hinges and hit the ground with a loud thud. My mother instantly turned to face me, a look of undeniable terror on her face. She knew that I heard every single poisonous word that oozed from her mouth. She knew what

I have built strong relationships with friends, and met many new ones, that I could only have achieved by spending hours running through the woods. There is a beautiful camaraderie that only teammates can have, I have learned that if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together; this mindset has made me realize that in order to achieve things you must surround yourself with a strong team that builds each other up. Furthermore, that all parts are important, no matter how small and that cheering for everyone, regardless of speed, builds morale and encourages everyone to perform better.

Everyday I try to set goals for myself, whether it is just completing my homework before I decide to do something with my friends or obtaining a personal best in shot put and discus. I am always challenging myself to meet my goals; for example, last year during a league meet for Track & Field, I made it to finals for discus and in order to prevail over the other throwers I had to throw my best. My first three throws were in my mind, horrible. I made it to finals but the previous throws were throwing me off, plus I had just twisted my ankle walking out of the ring. When I met up with my mom, I was angry and upset. I didn't know what was going to happen, all I knew was that without my mom, who encouraged me to envision how far I wanted the discus

I lied in my bed one night, my heart pounding, rapid breathing, and racing thoughts. I was having a panic attack. Life’s a journey and just a few are easy, clear paths. Majority have obstacles that they must overcome to continuing living the life they want. One obstacle and journey that I have dealt with in my life is my anxiety. I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would worry about everything, but was constantly told that it was normal to worry about things. Anxiety was just the norm for me. Even though I have had anxiety all my life there was one point when my anxiety was at its worst. I would have multiple panic attacks almost every day. A significant journey that has shaped me into the person I am today is the

I was laid on my bed after I bade Ri a goodnight. I was pondering about anything and everything. Thousands of thoughts were racing inside my head. But the most important question among them was, whether I should sleep or not. After the events of that night, a peaceful sleep seemed like a distant memory. Getting sleep terrors every night was being stressful, both physically and mentally. It drained and strained me from inside every time. All the events of that night were still alive and fresh in my memory. Consequently, when I slept at night, these memories rewind and replay. I could still feel the igniting fire kissing my skin and scarring it. The smell of the burning blood was still fresh in my mind, as though I could still smell it

I exhibit untainted modesty and decorum at all times. To modify that statement so it sits in casual terms, I prefer to be well aware of the required principles and stay atop them; I am not one to waver ways away from what is expected.

It ended up making me feel vulnerable, and the funny thing is that she was not my enemy. In fact, I trusted her more than anyone else. I spent so much time building up my outer shell so that no one could hurt me, but I ended up giving a piece of myself to her, a piece that I can never get back. The first time I realized I loved her was long after she had disappeared from my life, and it made me question the true validity of my feelings. Truth be told, this is a sappy love story, but I promise that changes later on. One question I continue to ask myself is how could someone who hurt me so badly still cross my mind so often?

Conversations with her were fascinating, I discovered that we both like to play the piano and listen to the same band. It has only four hours that I have met her, but it feels like she was my long lost sister, we had so many in common! Just like a puzzle, we click together in a blink of an eye, and we became best friends. At that moment, it felt that I could just spend the rest of my life with her, it was just that perfect! However, this was merely just the

Throughout my life the outdoors has always been prominent. I grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where my family would spend weekends hiking through the The Great Gulf. My earliest memories are of being held snug within a backpack carrier exploring the trails. Trying to see as much around me as I could past my mothers head. That sense of exploration and adventure only grew larger within me as I became older. Weekends would continue to be spent up in the mountains or out by the coast of Maine. Along the way I found a deep appreciation for the National Forests around me.