Personal Narrative: This I Believe 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.

It hurts. My bright red bruises under the light were buzzing from the pain. The yelling and arguing were muffled by my loud sobs. Why did this have to happen to me? I was just a kid, I didn’t do anything! Stomp stomp stomp. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He found me and yelled into my ears even more. I was called ugly, fat, disgusting, useless, girly, weak. The words ringed in my ears as I asked myself once again, why? I was like a slave, I couldn’t defend myself, I had to survive the beatings. I succumbed to the insults and descended into chaos.

Believing that my knee was strong and that it had a great deal of muscle control, I did not think to continuously strengthen it. I relied on the strength my knee had, which inevitably, turned out to be a massive mistake. By tearing the ligament that held my knee together, I was not able to walk on my own for at least two months, I missed out on many events my junior year that kept me busy and made me happy. Some of the events I missed out on were playing in basketball games, doing color guard at football games, competing at state for marching band, and competing at show choir competitions. Tearing my ACL and Meniscus not only taught me to not rely on my morals, but it also taught me to not let this setback keep me down.

Hearing him say that to me made me want to drop my things and walk out of the room, I wanted to turn away from football and never look back. Instead I went with it, that whole practice I was mad and everyone could tell. Many times, that day players would come up and ask “hey man is everything okay?” The only thing I could even say back was “I’m fine,” but they all knew I was anything but fine.

The shift to when football really developed into a serious lifestyle rather than a game for fun came with the transition from middle to high school. After showing up to the first freshman football workout, I knew that this was no joke. It was obvious that the training and practices were going to be significantly more vigorous than I had previously known, but I was ready to give it my full effort for four years.

"What defines us is how well we rise after falling" (Unknown). Everybody at one point will be knocked down in one point in there life, it matters if you get back up and don't give up. "Falling makes you weak but getting back up makes you stronger. Sure you'll have bruises, but they remind you on why you didn't give"

As a student, I have always handled the pressure of schoolwork and tests by preparing, organizing, and staying ahead of the game. I study for every single test and I practice for every piano, singing, orchestra, and ballet performance. I always plan ahead for the simplest things even in my personal life. I plan my Halloween costumes in August and my December birthday in September. Therefore, preparation gives me confidence and assurance that I will perform successfully. Little did I know that I cannot always control or prepare for every situation. In the December of 2012, someone threw me a lifeline and changed my attitude.

One cold winter day sitting at home waiting for my kids to get home from school. It was almost 3:00pm and they get off the bus at 3:05pm and all the sudden my phone rings and it’s the kids’ school. All I heard was “We have Diego; we need to come to school right now.” My heart dropped, and that was the longest ride ever and we only lived 3 minutes from the school. I got to the office and I had no idea what to expect my son sitting in the chair in the Dean of Students office, he spots me and just starts crying. I asked “What’s going on with my son?” When the effects of bullying have been brought into your life, the effect it has on your family as a whole was hard, but we did overcome the problem that faced us as a team.

This thing called "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down. The quote simply means that when you fall in life, it's not failure, but if you don't progress than you've failed. I can truly relate to this quote. A few months ago, I went through a tremendously difficult surgery. The doctors had to operate on my left foot. However, it was very painful to even walk after my surgery. The doctors prescribe me with medications, and I had to get on crutches. There were a few times I felt like giving up, but I couldn't do that. Being an athlete pushed me to recover quickly from my surgery. I had to learn how to walk, how to carry my book bag, and how to do things on my own. That surgery could have failed me, but I had faith to keep fighting.

The young woman jumped, hitting several keys on her keyboard. She looked around her dark room and then to the clock on the computer screen. 7:00 AM.

An elevator pitch is a short sales pitch about yourself. In your pitch, you are selling yourself and you must point out why you stand out better than others. Before I even start to give my speech, I would make sure I am speaking to the correct person. The skills that I would want to be sure that they know I am a team player, always wanting to learn new skills and update my existing skills. I can maintain focus until a project is complete. I would also point out characteristics about myself such as honesty and dependability. I am responsible and I have integrity. I would emphasize most on my effective communication skills, integrity and dependability. I am passionate about my degree because I like to solve problems and my degree is Accounting

The past few years I had been pestering my dad about playing football. I overheard the other kids at school talking about their cool jerseys and who they had to play that upcoming weekend. My dad reassured me that I would be able to play, but to me I felt like it would never happen. I stayed patient though. I didn’t even know why I wanted to play. I just knew I should.

Growing up as a kid, I couldn’t wait to play high school football. I was a religious redskins fan and one day wanted to play for them. In elementary school my principal had to call my parents because I wouldn’t return from recess since I wanted to play touch football with the older kids. In middle school I went to my first high school football game and heard the crowd chanting the name of the schools quarterback. I coveted that glory. If you were to tell me back then that I would quit a few games in to my sophomore year I would think that you’re crazy. But that is exactly what I did...

It was a sunny summer day and football camp, was going to start. The week before I was preparing for it. I bought gloves and cleats. I love football, but I can’t play it because I am too short and I can’t catch. I knew in the next couple of weeks I would be at camp.

Children are innocent, free of concern and grief. I remember when I was nine years old. I did not have a care in the world, I was happy. The evening was filled with joy. My father, mom, little sister, my twin and I all went to a party that my mother’s friend was throwing for finishing her remodeling of her house. Everyone I knew was at the party. The night was warm, the sky clear of stars and the moon shone brightly over the back yard. My sisters and I were running around the yard, playing with friends while the adults drank their adult drinks.