Personal Narrative: The Blue Bar

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.

We searched for a place to park the car. The wait for the rest of the Fritsch family dragged on and lasted forever. It’s already late morning and we haven’t even gone in yet! I can’t believe the rest of the family’s taking so long! UGGGG! The sound of people laughing and splashing surrounded the car. Hearing this, sitting still wasn’t going to last very long. The bottled up energy exploded, as Sawyer and I started hopping around and yelling.

I opened my eyes and looked up to see the bars above me and the suffocating smell of chalk filled my lungs as all eyes peered down at me. I was 8 and being in a situation as extreme as this without your parents is pretty difficult. I was at gymnastics camp in Pennsylvania 4 hours away from my parents. I had no phone and no way of contacting them except through letters. This was my second year at the camp and I loved it. I was on bars trying a squat on jump to high bar which I had previously done by myself. I fell in a funny way and landed on my arm so perfectly that it broke. A complete piece of my elbow broke off. I was rushed to the hospital.

William took a sip of his gin and tonic and smiled, trying to feel comfortable among the naïve students at the local college bar. It was loud and overcrowded. He glanced down at his phone, the brightness from the screen briefly burning his eyes. The time was 1:58AM and she still wasn’t here. He softly ran his fingers through his hair…slightly frustrated. She said she would be here thirty minutes ago. I hate this place anyway…

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.

Evie hopped off the bus with a renewed sense of purpose. “I came here to succeed. Not to worry about home,” she thought to herself. She was feeling driven and ready to begin anew here, in a foreign land with foreign people, people who don’t know her or her legacy. She looked around at the lively street scene before her. The signs were vibrant and their brilliance drew her closer and closer to the center of town. The entire city seemed to be moving towards her, and an endless sea of men and women spewed out of the buildings and down the block. The congested streets keep her pace slow, but her mind was racing with new thoughts and ideas. The gridlocked traffic finally allowed for some leeway, and Evie found her way out of the fray and across

on it. Again, we had fifteen minutes, this time I felt my thoughts flowing on to the paper. I

My lungs filled with oxygen as I drew in a deep breath. I gently closed the book in front of me as my eyes slowly refocused on my surroundings. I felt like I had been drowning for hours and could just now come up for air. Except I didn’t want to. The water that had confined me flowed from a completely different world which I had no desire to leave. I could imagine myself as a part of that world’s adventures and playing a role in the story’s unfolding. A connection had formed between me and the characters, as if I had stood with them and their experiences had become my own. In the moments while I read, nothing had the ability to distract me from their struggles and their triumphs. In chunks their world consumed my time, my emotion, and my thinking.

“I’m on my way,” Ben advised as he saved the document he was working on and locked his computer. Ben gathered his keys and made his way to the garage to take Zack’s car. The trek was made with apprehension. The dread crept up into his thoughts like a mist. He brought his hand up to his throat and loosened his tie when it suddenly felt like he was choking on it.

I could almost hear the screams of delight from a block away, and was pleased that everyone liked my idea. But now I was exhausted, and didn’t believe that once, I hoped for adventure in my life. This had been adventure enough, and I hoped to relax for a long time now. I just wanted to go home and

“Be Right down.” I text back as I open the the big door to the theatre. The sweat smell of candy and soda mixes with the butter scent of popcorn and old wood. The familiar scent wraps around me and whispers memories of the last time I was here. That time I had a small part two dances and a understudying part. This year is different I have four dances and three understudying parts. I check in and leave the lobby and follow the path that is permanently etched into my mind from year of fallowing the same path. As I walk

The only sound that filled my ears was my keyboard clicking as my fingers raced across it. I had been procrastinating from finishing this assignment all evening, but I knew I needed to get it done. The burning sunset was shining through the windows as I was finishing up. It was a peaceful silence, until I heard the soft whispers of my parents that ignited my sense of curiosity. I was concentrating hard; doing my best trying to make out the hushed words that were being spoken.

The voice recorder on the table I was sitting at clicked into existence. Then, at the request of a curt nod, I launched into the monologue I had been planning in my head for the past fortnight.