Personal Narrative-Xcel Energy Center Event

After we went upstairs and packed like usual. Finally we loaded up the van and left to go to the Pow Wow grounds. By the time we got there and parked it was about 10.

It started as typical Tuesday with a couple of court hearings, maybe an arrest, but nothing to exciting. That all changed at dawn.

For me, the most exciting time of the year comes in late August. It is the Middlesex County 4-H Fair, in which I give not so much my weekend, but my life. As the title implies, the fair is put on by the 4-H organization. This youth organization uses agricultural education and community service to teach important life lessons. I joined 4-H when I was eleven years old and it continues to change my life. I have learned communication, leadership, and even my love for education through the wonderful programs and dedicated volunteers.

Relay for Life has been a tremendous part of my life, as well as my family’s, since I was six years old. I got involved with Relay for Life because of my mom. My mom was the Relay chair of the Relay for Life in Hazel Green, Alabama for a few years. I helped on the Relay Committee, and was even in charge of a team of teens. Raising money for cancer research is very special to me. I've seen so many loved ones from many families lose the fight. I really want to make a difference in this world, especially with cancer research. My mom made a big impact on me through how tough she when she lost her best friend, Cissy Swaim, and then became involved in raising money for cancer research.

Dresses to be worn with jewelry, footwear to accompany my outfit, this had by far been the fanciest preparation I had done yet. After a prosperous year in seventh grade, I was going to wrap it up by attending the 2016 Technology Student Association, with my peers that participated in the Verizon Innovative App Challenge. We were all waiting for this day, when we all would share our app concept infront 7000 other tech savvy people. When we had landed in Tennessee, where the event was taking place, my luck had seemed to be left on the plane. My luggage was the only one to be missing! During this crisis, there was only one family among my peers that truly stood out. Not only they show more concern than the others, but they went beyond our expectations for help me and showed me their good character.

It is that time of year again; school is starting and with all of the district budget cuts, one way to supplement a school’s needs is the ever popular PTA Fundraiser! My first siting of this story was on Face Book earlier this week. The “Alternative Fundraiser” is an idea that has been percolating for a while: write a check instead of buying/making/participating in something that no one really wants to be involved in any way! As Emanuella Grinberg wrote in her article PTA Fundraiser Lets Parents Donate Cash Instead of Cupcakes on the CNN website (www.cnn.com), Dee Heinz’s family has participated in just about every bake sale and class fundraiser known to the modern PTA. As most parents will attest, all the

Caroline, my sister, is the type of person who loves animals and says she wants to save the world. She thinks her jokes are the best, but she’s the only one that laughs. She is always willing to help someone out if they are stuck. She knows how to put a smile on someone's face. Whenever Caroline answers the phone, even if it wakes her from a nap, she always smiles first and then talks. “Because a smile can change any meaning” she always says. She is a 20 year old junior at “UW-Madison for my undergraduate degree in anthropology with certificates in archaeology and classics” (C. Schlinsog, Personal Interview, May 31, 2017). She is very smart, she is taking summer classes so she can graduate early and go on to graduate school. She has a big future ahead of her.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”-Mahatma Gandhi

With tennis shoes tight on my feet, my legs begin to pound into the pavement on my road. My feet race on, one right after another, along the road. It isn’t long before something feels wrong. I can’t tell what it is. My gate seems off, and my legs seem almost more free. I keep looking at the world racing by me. Sun and blue skies warm my face, and chirping birds keep me company. A summer day couldn’t be better. Then, it strikes me. How could I have not noticed it before? The free legs! The chirping birds! It all seems so obvious now. I reach my hand down to my pocket to confirm the growing suspicion in my mind. Upon contact with the empty pocket, my suspicions are confirmed. I had forgotten my phone. How could I go for a run without one of my favorite podcasts? I suddenly

I am going to be talking about the time I missed an important deadline and spent my day writing an essay about a career instead of actually going out getting to experience a day in the field. I should have gotten my forms signed so that I would have been allowed to go to CSD.

The Pathways event was a really great experience for me. There was so many things I didn’t know about and many things I wanted to know more about. One booth that grabbed my attention was Study Aboard. I’ve always wanted to go overseas and learn new skills and as well as expand my knowledge about the country I’m visiting. I had questions like “how am I going to pay for it? or “Will going abroad help with credits going towards my major?”. After getting most of my questions answered, I feel a little better knowing that I can afford it. I hope to go abroad next summer to France as it has always been my dream to go there and to learn as much as I possibly

My most significant experience in my life is unforgettable. I was there with my sisters, my mom, and my dad. It was the most horrifying event that I have ever witnessed. The daunting image in my head is still clear as day, as though it happened yesterday. This event did not affect only me, but also my family. The story that I am about to tell you may change the way you see things and it may not. All I can say is, it

“And your second place band is…” I remember that the room was silent enough to hear the racing hearts of the hundreds of performers. Each had poured his heart out on the field. The silence was deafening, and hearts were no longer racing. Instead, it felt as if they had momentarily stopped. Each student of the marching band grasped another student’s sweaty and shaky hands. The pause would feel like centuries, seeing as the next word determined the results of months of hard work. The announcer was going to reveal who had reached the award of state champion. Of course, performing at the state level was rewarding enough, but we were about to learn if we could go home with the title of 2014 state champion.

Light the Way means to lead and help other people by showing he/she how to overcome obstacles about the uncertainty.

Who knew that I, a middle school English teacher, could be thrown into a “life-and-death” situation and respond so effectively. In my wildest dreams I never imagined my three-mile power walk would be interrupted quite like it was. On this particular day, I was at the halfway point of my walk. My heart was pumping pretty good while 70s disco music blared through my earbuds. The music was so loud that I’m surprised I heard the crash! As I quickly scanned my surroundings, I saw a man lying on the grass with an overturned riding lawn mower nearby. Instinctively I knew that this was the source of that noise. I’m not a runner, but I shifted gears and “ran” across the street to help. As I did, I frantically motioned to a lady in a van to slow down and held my hand up to my ear to indicate that I needed a phone. She pulled over as I approached the man’s side. Thoughts of massive blood created by that lawn mower’s razor sharp blade sent shivers up my spine. I’m a teacher, not a medical professional! What if I pass out? I sent up a quick prayer asking for help to deal with whatever I was about to encounter.