A Race Against Time - Personal Narrative
" I can do it… I can …" I kept repeating this line over and over again
as I positioned myself at the starting point. The war of the crowd
seemed miles away and all that mattered was me, the track and the
clock. Time seemed to freeze for a split second as I began to crouch
to my starting position. It was an agonizing two seconds as I waited
for the splitting, piercing sound to erupt from the gun.
Now was that crucial moment. A decision that had kept my mind from
thinking anything else besides this race. I took half a second to
glance at my opponents on my right. These are the ones. The best of
this nation. The ones I had to beat. But what worried me was not the
other seven runners, but the clock, the record set back in
eighty-three. Yes, today, the twenty-year-old record would be no more,
and a new champion would be born.
My mind dangerously wandered off, breaking my concentration. What if…?
It was racing with thoughts of uncertainties, fear and doubt.
Winning was not a problem, it was making a mark in today's event that
was the challenge. If I were to just simply run this race, it would be
like leaving my footprints along the beach. Tide and time would wash
away those marks - someone else may beat my timing some other time,
and I would be nothing. Or, I could imprint my hands onto the blocks
of semi-wet cement in Hollywood, and there, I would stay forever -
just like my name would be a new barrier for any other inspired
runner, aiming for a record.
The sun's heat beat down upon us, sending endless streams of torment
and torture. It was unusually hot, and it worried me even more. This
race was not against each other, it was a race against time.
A bead of sweat slipped down my forehead and trickled slowly down my
neck. At that instant, the gun exploded, sending a thunderous shock
The racecar was not the most creative or what some would call beautifully designed. But the owner and his father worked for weeks on that little wooden block to turn it into something the ten-year-old boy could be proud to race. A previous race showed what needed to be done for a car to make it in the top five. After careful designing, sanding, painting, and graphite the car was finished.
When I time traveled to the future, it was weird because I went with my sister and with my best friend Layla, but first I will tell you the beginning of the story. When Layla and I were sitting at our desks until our teacher Mrs. Saver showed us a new book called time travel. We both wanted to read the book so we asked Mrs. Sarver if Layla and I could read the book together and Mrs. Sarver told us yes, but we can’t joke around or mess around with each other or she will separate us. When Layla and I went to my house, Layla asked me “wouldn’t you want to travel to the future” and then I got an Idea. I told Layla that she had to go home, but Layla asked me why, so I told her that I had to do my homework, when she left I went to my parent’s
“Time’s a goon”(332), Randy thought to himself as he flicked his cigarette onto the street from the balcony of his small apartment. Whatever hope Randy had for being successful in life was lost years ago. He was poor, and never was able to pay his rent on time. Because of Randy’s insolvency, he conducted many petty thefts such as, stealing bikes and pickpocketing, as well as working a full time, minimum wage job. Randy heard a knock at the door and the sound of muffled voices. Randy sighed, got up, and opened the door. It was his friends Jonny, George, and Kyle.
It was an early morning in mid July. The grass was still soaked in dew, and my eyelids were heavy with exhaustion. Me and a couple of my track teammates piled in our car to make the drive to Marquette where we would run our first ever half marathon. Out of the three of us I was the only one who had never ran distance competitively, so I recruited my friend Blake to run with me because I knew I could not keep up with Isabelle and Aimee. The half marathon was just one of many events being put on for the Marquette trails festival, and just after our race there would be a mountain bike race. The run started just at the bottom of Marquette mountain and made a three leaf clover up and around the mountain. There were about fifteen people running this
The sun beating down on my face with extreme heat is compared to the surface of the sun or hell, either way, it's hot.
One, Two, Three, and bang I hear the pistol goes off. I start to run as fast as I can go from the fear of staying behind. I had to do that process every single week; I didn't really like it a lot; I was nervous and scared but I didn't stop I just kept on going. The training wasn't fun either I hated it. I was always tired and I was in pain most of the time. Track was something new for me; I wasn't the best at it but, my friends kept on pushing me to work harder and become better.
Personal Narrative: The World The world is a messed up place and we are all stuck here until our lives are through, or until we choose to leave. It's strange that I go along with everything everyone tells me, such as that I should wear certain clothes or listen to certain songs. I often wonder why I do the things I do, but then I just realize that's who I am. People are confused about why they are here, and they don't understand what life is supposed to be about.
What’s the most influential story ever told? Who wrote it and Why? What emotions did it pull? All aspects of life are based on the stories told and history held within them. A piece of prose, a poem, and even a song tells a story and have the ability to evoke a wide range of emotions from the audience. My obsession with being a storyteller and The University Of Iowa’s M.F.A writing program is the perfect recipe to impact audiences across any medium.
Cars, those things that help us move efficiently. Some prefer something affordable, to accommodate the family, or to show off to the world and say, “Hey, I got a lot of money or just borrowed a big sum of cash to buy this and now acquired massive debt.” Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never dreamed of owning a nice sports car? but can’t because being an adult means you have great amount of responsibility in your hands.
Life is a game of challenges and obstacles. The people who manage life with precise decisions and management are successful while others who do not manage life as effectively tend to fail. Life is all about encountering obstacles and how we confront and conquer these difficulties in order to progress and learn as individuals. Life without challenges would to be ideal and unrealistic. Challenges and obstacles is what strives and helps individuals mature and grow.
Sweat dripping off my forehead and into to my eyes making them burn. Each step I take is pain. My feet weigh 100 pounds, my legs are noodles, and my shoulders are tense. It’s becoming harder to breath. With each step of pain yells a voice in my head saying “STOP! GIVE UP!” But I will not because this is a sport that I love and deep down I know I can do this. I can go faster.
Flashbulb memories, significant events stored in our brain, are a phenomenon. Oftentimes, it is triggered when a person experiences extreme passion, anger, fear, or sadness. Like a scrapbook or old photo album, the brain captures these images forever, and mine is filled with family vacations that have sculpted me into the person I am today. Growing up on an island is like living in a bubble: it’s sheltered and tranquil. Once I began to travel away from home, that bubble burst from my eye opening vacation experiences.
I think my reading went pretty well this semester. The books I really enjoyed were Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, The Burn Journals, and Geography Club. I didn't enjoy Paper Towns or Six Months Later very much. I did enjoy reading a wide variety of books, but it was challenging to find ones that I didn't lose interest in after the first chapter. It was also challenging to know when a good time to read was. The time I was most interested in reading was the day that I chose the book, because if I wait too long after reading the first part of a book I will lose interest in the book. So usually, since I chose almost all my books right before SSR, I would want to continue reading the book as soon as possible. This created
Going into the first race we had not expected much since Susan and I had never run this type of race. There were so many crucial things that we had to remember. It wasn't just to get out of the blocks and burn up the track; there was a baton involved, a certain amount of steps to take, and even a certain way to hold the baton.
The miles increased each week and before I knew it, the last long run before the marathon was only twenty miles. Then came the marathon, 26.2 miles of runners’ high, pain, agony, and unstable weather.