Personal Narrative: The Dim Sum Table

Finding this healthy version of a common comfort food brought upon a feeling of freedom, something I hadn't felt in a while. Usually a burger and fries meal would have brought upon feelings of anxiety. When I first saw the meal approaching my table, those feelings of uncertainty began to arise. When the waiter placed

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.

Firstly, the author states her personal narrative to support her point. Tam, who has a Chinese background used to enjoy spending her time to cook ngau lam, a Cantonese braised brisket stew, as well as other dishes even though they smelled until one of her friends called her family dishes "Chinese grossness" (2015, para. 5). In according to Tam, her friend's words "clung to her". She recalls she was so embarrassed that she tried to be distanced herself from family food (2015, para. 6). Tam's personal narrative is effective because it is reflective of her real life, which gives credence to her article.

I was incredibly excited. School was starting tomorrow. The first few days were just icebreakers, learning everyone’s names, blah blah blah. Then the real learning began. Of course, teachers started to write our lessons on the board. I started to notice a few changes in what I was seeing. The words they were writing were just...black lines! I didn’t pay much attention to it, I just asked my friends what the board said. As the year went on, it affected me more and more, especially in math. I saw a 2 as a 6, and and an A as an 8.

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.

I rush into my home and run up the stairs to my room. I jump on my bed and roll over to my laptop and open it quickly. I log onto the One Direction site and see that I made it in time to see the bid. I scroll and try and find my name and I see I'm in third place for the tickets and the time is running out. I've already bid $7000 for three tickets and backstage passes. The reason it's so expensive is because these passes are the last set of passes for their concert. 5sos is also playing so we would be meeting two bands and hearing both of them play.

In 2025, I will be twenty-nine years old and hopefully married. I will be married to my significant other of ten years Earnest Palmer III, who is a dentist. I would have been recently graduating with a bachelor’s in Culinary Arts and trying to plan to open my own restaurant, BubbaD’s Eateries. Knowing my big headed husband of mine, I probably had a baby then and trying to have another baby. Hopefully, by then Earnest will get rid of the idea naming our son, King. We will be living in the suburbs near New York City but working in the city. Being a woman with great memory, I probably wrote a memoir about my crazy life and trying to sell it to a publisher. If none of the publishers wants to publish my memoir, I will probably sell it the Lifetime

When I was extended seven feet above the ground, I knew we had succeeded. My two bases were in front of me and my backspot was behind me. I heard the familiar counts of my backspot “one, two, three, four”, I bounced and pushed myself up into my bases waiting hands, “five, six, seven, eight”, I straightened as my bases lifted me up to chest level. I locked my knees and stayed tight. I put on a smile and looked ahead. I felt my backspot release her hold on my ankles. I heard her voice once again, “extension, one, two, three, four”, I brought my hands down to my sides and focused on staying tight as I slowly rose, “five, six, seven, eight. I was all the way up. Then a few moments later I heard the counts as they brought me to chest level then back down to the ground. We had done it, we had hit the stunt and did an extension.

The narrative begins by telling how a young Chinese girl has a crush on the minister’s son, Robert who is American. When the daughter finds out her parents have invited the minister and his family over to eat, she starts to panic. All she could think was, “What would Robert think of our shabby Chinese Christmas? What would he think of our noisy Chinese relatives who lacked proper American manners? What terrible disappointment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food?” Here is where Amy Tan first hints at the shame she has about her culture. She was already embarrassed before the dinner even happened. Tan continues to provide a vivid image of the special meal her mother has prepared. For example she describes the fish as “a slimy rock cod with bulging eyes”, and she makes the fish seem almost human as it “pleads” not to be dropped into the hot oil. Tan uses a simile to describe the tofu. “Tofu, which looked like stacked wedges of rubbery white sponges.” Tan compares the markings on the squid to a bicycle tire, so that one can imagine the deep cuts made by the knife. She includes this description

Of course the norm for me is that of any citizen living in zone three.

Inside would be an outfit so stylish that it begged to be worn. Accompanying the clothes would be a small white box with a red rose bow that flopped over the sides of the box. Inside this box would be a ring from her collection or another piece of jewelry she had picked out for me. However excited I was for the presents, the excitement quickly turned toward thoughts of the upcoming meal she had prepared for the family. It did not matter what she had prepared for the meal; the kitchen always had such delectable scents that wafted through the air and just settled over the house. My mouth was in a constant state of salivation and my stomach waited expectantly for what was sure to be another meal that left my stomach uncomfortably full and yet yearning for more. And yet, no matter what she made, the best part of the meal that you always took thirds or fourths from came from the salad bowl. A simple salad served with homemade Italian dressing and fresh crumbled Roquefort cheese, it was what reminded me best of grandma.

For my artifact project, I’ll be focusing on Shanghainese xiao long bao, often known as “soup dumplings” in English-speaking countries. Although there are actually several kinds of soup dumplings in Eastern China, xiao long bao is the variation that managed to have a global reach. My first personal experience with xiao long bao was in my sophomore year of high school, when my friend and her mother took me to a Shanghainese restaurant in Chinatown. I was (and still am) somewhat of a novice to any Chinese food and definitely had no knowledge of what food came out of Shanghai. However, I always had a deep love of dumplings. Honestly, any food that involves meat wrapped in dough has always appealed to me. When the soup dumplings arrived at our

Throughout the conversation, Susan did not inform me that the home was still in First Look and not open to investors at this time. Susan did not highlight any features of the home, nor did she talk about the neighborhood or the surrounding area. When asked, Susan paused to reference the property file and stated, "In looking at the pictures it appears that it needs interior paint, carpet, appliances, and a few windows, which the previous seller must have taken." She stated, "I don't know why they have to remove things from the homes." I asked, "Do you have offers?" She paused to check the property file and answered, "No offers." I asked, "Is the property behind the home farmland?" She paused to reference the property file and replied, "It appears

The family I visited consisted of a mother, father, and daughter. They all greeted me very warmly. I followed their lead and made observations as to whether I should take my shoes off or leave them on. They provided a shoe rack where everyone already placed their shoes. I took mine off and placed them on the rack. After greeting me, the mother and daughter disappeared into the kitchen. The father guided me to the dining table and explained that dinner was almost ready. We sat at a round table that had a large wall hanging of Buddha. The daughter brought out some tea which she served first to her father and then me. The daughter went back to the kitchen. After a few minutes the mother and daughter emerged carrying large plates of food. The mother placed a plate of chicken, beef, and shrimp in the center of a flat glass wheel located at the center of the table. The daughter placed a bowl of rice, saucer, and chopsticks (including a fork just for me) in front of every place