Personal Narrative: The Helicopter Jumping

Have you ever gone parasailing? Well, I have it was honestly the scariest most thrilling thing I have ever done. I got onto the boat to get to the bigger bout and I thought a shark was going to attack me, or I was going to drown. My heart was beating at least 200 beats per second.

I thought completing Marine Corps boot camp was my most cherished accomplishment, completing boot camp merely stood in the shadows of my last work up for my last deployment. I was holding the Bravo Squad Leader position. At this point in my Marine Corps career I obtained three combat oriented M.O.S.’ or jobs; however, there was little to no preparation for what I got myself into.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment read white letters on top of an electric blue cover. My fingers grazed the lamented face of the book. I found myself falling back onto a brown leather couch in an uninhabited and silent house. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of wind running through the trees in my backyard, and my accelerated heartbeat as I looked at this new book. I opened it up daring to step in a world foreign to me. The thin paper pages were covered with a plethora of words. From there on I couldn’t tell you anymore. I was lost on a guided tour in my own imagination. I was lost in with the flock of bird kids who never met their parents. I was lost in the fight for survival as a group of mutant children with 14 foot wings

It was a cool November day, in the middle of Afghanistan. As a medic, I was sitting outside my make shift aid station with one of my buddies sharing stories about home. We hear a loud explosion right outside of the wire. I looked up and could see the cloud of smoke billowing up from about two hundred meters away. Not knowing how bad the situation was, I grabbed a few of my soldiers, our translator and my aid bag and ran straight to the smoke. When we got there, a group of civilians were huddled around a group of people who were yelling, screaming and crying. The translator found out that a group of three men and three children were walking around a field when one of the children stepped on a mine. One of my soldiers grabbed the mine

I have always wanted to go on a zipline. I break out into a sweat as I headed up the steep mountainous terrain. One foot at a time I reached for the unstable scattered pegs on the tree cautiously. As the fear of falling came to mind I stopped and thought to myself...I can do this.

“It goes upside down!” I said. My sister was telling me about a roller coaster ride in Disney World after our parents had broken the news that we were going the summer of my fourth grade year. The idea of going to a park was amazing, but the terrifying part was my slight fear of the fast roller coasters that my family enjoys. My parents looked at me, and I smiled with uncertainty. But on the contrary I started to feel a faint feeling of ambition because maybe I could overcome my fear.

Once we had finally hiked our way up to the first resting point, my anxiety had gone away. In my mind, up to that point, the hike had been fairly easy. We all took our time to look around and drink our water and take pictures; my mom got slightly upset when I wanted to take one close to the edge. Once we were all ready to go again, it was time to start the unpaved or the scary part of the hike as I like to call it. Beforehand, I had researched the hike and

I am a piece of clay, just as every person is. We are not just any kind of clay, though, we’re that special molding clay that never dries out. Because of this, we are constantly molded by almost everyone and everything surrounding our lives. At the beginning of life, we are molded by the hands of loving parents, but once we leave that safe-place, we are on our own. At that point, we can be tossed, slammed, poked at, and sometimes even ripped apart. One important event in my life that molded me and has helped make me the person I am today was my first roller coaster ride. Amusement rides don’t usually change a person’s life, but the first time I went on a roller coaster, I found myself stepping off the ride as an entirely different person. Most people conquer their fear of heights or fast-moving vehicles on thrill rides, but instead, I conquered the one thing most people are terrified to face. Something that’s more horrific than monsters and demons, and that is yourself. For me, the ride was more of a journey than anything. From the beginning to the end, I learned a

My story is an interesting one. The first major thing that happened to me was my family's move to Peru. I lived there for two years, from when I was seven to nine years old. I did learn to speak Spanish pretty well but sadly, I did not retain it for long after we moved back to the United States. Living there was a huge blessing to me, it taught me how to adjust to whatever life throws at you. Anyone who has ever moved knows it can be hard to readjust, but moving to another country teaches you how to adjust to almost anything. The second significant event that happened to me was my start of becoming a runner. Running taught me to be tough and to fight through the pain to become stronger and get to the finish line. Another event that has shaped

‘’I was on my way to back to school night I was extremely nervous to meet my teacher and when I got there I heard Andrew then I turned around and…’’ One time when I was in second grade I was on my way to back to school night I went to meet my teacher her name was Ms. Pepler. She was nice at helping me put my stuff in my desk but I thought she would be meaner in the school year so when me and my mom got back in the car I said ‘’I think Ms. pepler is going to be mean this year.’’ My mom said ‘’ she seemed really nice at back to school night’’ then I said maybe you're right.’’ Now it is the first day of school and I was nervous because I thought I had a mean teacher and I didn't have any friends it was just me and my cousin. The first day of

My military service reshaped who I am. My training stripped away any sense of entitlement and I learned more about myself in four months than I’d ever known before. It not only gave me discipline and taught me to perform under pressure, but everything I did wasn’t just for me anymore. I was working hard for the marines next to me in my platoon. The time came when each of us hit a breaking point physically or mentally.

I wish I could tell you all of this in person but I know if I try I’ll probably get very nervous and forget some small details that I would really like to tell you, and those are probably the most important to me. I saw you for the first time on February 23 at the valentines party, and that was such a fortunate thing to go to because I was able to get free food, have a good time, see old friends I haven’t seen since last semester, but most importantly I was able to see you. I didn’t know who you were at the time, but I knew you were like a very sweet, funny, caring, smart, and very beautiful just from your appearance. I first noticed you when you sat across from me when we were playing charades, and that’s when I knew that I wanted to get to

“Hard right!” shouted my brother. Immediately, I threw the flight simulator into a massive right turn, hoping to line up for a shot at an enemy. Unfortunately for us, it was a little too massive, and we swung to the side, facing the wrong way. I wrestled the controls, and finally stabilized on target.

I sighed with relief, but when I saw we were flopped upside-down with no seat belts, I screamed like there was no tomorrow. Hanging on to the safety bars, all of the men and women cried for help as their hands were slipping off of the metal bars, my little brother, Robby, was going to fall, my mom was holding onto him very tight, but, unfortunately, not tight enough.

Generations and generations of my family have been Christians who followed Christ; so I grew up going to church and serving the Lord. I loved school, learning, and the Lord. Those were my three passions growing up. I did exceptionally well every year of school. I received A’s and a 4.0 GPA throughout all my school years. By my freshman year of high school I was ahead credits and on the road to graduating early. Then a turn of events happened. I met a boy; who became my boyfriend. We were happy and in love. Although my family was against it, they permitted me to move in with his family because of our persistency. His family was perfect in my eyes; after all his parents were still married and mine were not. Even though I had two exceptional