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    Essential Elements of Narrative Essays

    The focus of a narrative essay is the plot, which is told using enough details to build to a climax.

    Here's how:

    • It is usually told chronologically.• It usually has a purpose, which is usually stated in the opening sentence.

    • It may use dialogue.

    • It is written with sensory details and vivid descriptions to involve the reader.

    All these details relate in some way to the main point the writer is making.

    Narrative Essay Sample

    The Biggest Nightmare

    Rating: 5.0

    It was a hot summer’s day. Everything around me was slowly starting to melt: the trees, the houses, the sky and the

    pathway to my garage. It seemed that I was aout to melt down mysel!, so there would only e a small puddle o!

    glue"like sustance le!t on the ground. I was walking very slowly. #y head !elt huge and heavy, and every muscle in

    my ody was sore. #y arms and legs were arely responding to the signals that my rain was sending to them. It

    !elt like a slow"motion horror movie, only it was happening live. I $nally reached the !ront door and touched the

    handle. %he path that took only a second !or my eyes to see, took aout twenty minutes !or my ody to accomplish.

    &ut, I was $nally at my goal.

    I slowly turned the handle o! the door, only to reali'e it had arely moved. I took all the strength that I had le!t in

    my ody and pressed the handle again. (o success. I turned around, leaned against the door, and slowly slid downto the ground. I !elt !aint. #y head was spinning. I was so thirsty that I could arely think aout anything else. I had

    to get inside) had to pull mysel! together and open the door. *therwise, I would !aint here, near the !ront entrance

    to my own house, which was not the scenario I’d pre!er. I pulled mysel! !rom the ground and !aced the door again. I

    closed my eyes !or a second, took a deep reath, opened them, and pushed the door kno as hard as I could, at the

    time. It gave way grudgingly. I! it wasn’t !or the helpless shadow o! a man that I was at that moment, I would

    de$nitely have screamed in happiness !or $nally winning, over this stuorn door kno. &ut, all I could settle !or

    right then was a weak smile, and a deep sigh o! relie!.

    I went inside, and had to wait !or a minute e!ore I could make out anything. It was too dark, still very hot and,

    somehow, very lonely inside. &y the time my eyes adapted to the darkness inside, I could tell no one was around.

    +hat time was it And where was everyone %he house was completely and scarily -uiet. %he silence was

    unnatural. %here was no sound coming !rom the working !ridge, or ticking clock) nothing. I went to the kitchen to

    get some water, opened the tap and put an empty glass under it. &ut there was no water, not even a drop %he

    glass remained empty. %his seemed like a complete nightmare. I must e dreaming I !elt like the world had died

    out, everything had stopped and, somehow, I was !orgotten here all alone, le!t to die !rom thirst and heat.

    I was having a panic attack. +ith the anger and strength that came out o! nowhere, I ran !rom one room to another,

    looking !or anyone. #om, /osh, dad, harlie 1 no one was to e seen. %he dogs were gone too. +hat is wrong with

    the place Again, !or the third or !ourth time, I caught mysel! thinking this was 2ust a ad dream. &ut, my ody still

    !elt very much sore, and I could vividly !eel the pain. 3aving no clue o! what else, e4cept the pain, could help me

    distinguish etween dreaming and reality, I had to accept the !act that I was living this nightmare !or real.

    uddenly, I heard a sound coming !rom downstairs. It was a very slight, !aint sound that repeated in a second, only

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    louder. I ran downstairs, !eeling a little scared, and, at the same time, hoping that it was someone, or something,

    that could e4plain to me what was going on.

     %he living room was empty. %he sound was coming !rom outside the ack porch, and it was increasing in loudness

    with every new cycle. It reminded me o! when dad and I went rowing, and every time dad turned over the oars,

    they made the same whistling sound, cleaving the air. I ran outside the ack door, and was almost rought down to

    the ground y the strength o! the wind. It was a helicopter, right aove me, coming onto me. I lay on the ground,screaming, ut I couldn’t hear my own voice through the noise o! the implacale vanes getting closer, and !ree'ing

    me to the ground6

    6 7/ason, honey, wake up It’s 2ust a dream, ae. 8ou look so pale. Are you okay9 #y mom was standing ne4t to

    my ed, trying to calm me down, as I was still screaming and apping my arms. %he air was on, and the !an aove

    my ed was making that particular whistling sound with each turn.

    My Unusual Vacation

    Rating: 5.0

     %ravelling has always een a passion o! mine. &eing a photographer, I $nd seeing new places, meeting new people

    and getting to know di;erent cultures, e4ceptionally inspiring. &y the age o! aos, %hailand, /apan, Egypt, #alaysia, (ew ?ealand, Australia

    and ua. o, when a !riend o! mine who was working as a @eace orps volunteer in the kraine invited me to visit

    him !or a couple o! weeks, I thought: 7+hy not I do not know what to e4pect !rom this country since I know very

    little aout it. o, it will de$nitely e an interesting e4perience9 And I was so right aout that.

    kraine turned out to e completely di;erent !rom everything I have seen so !ar. A post oviet nion country, it is

    still struggling to uild a developed society. &ut, eing a photographer, I was !ar more interested in nature, people

    and sites, than in politics. kraine appeared to e a eauti!ul, even gorgeous country. &eing slightly smaller than

     %e4as, it is e4tremely diverse and is !ull o! natural wonders that take your reath away. Byiv, the capital city,

    appeared une4pectedly well"groomed, green and wealthy. >ots o! ridges across the Cnipro River, a great numer

    o! eauti!ul parks, a couple o! otanical gardens, and many, many owers everywhere you go. A lot !riendlier than

    you would think. (e4t we went to the western kraine with its own peculiar culture and atmosphere.

     %he arpathian #ountains are gorgeous and very authentic, with small distant villages and little country houses

    that seem like the progress will never reach them. An ama'ingly romantic place I had een there in late #ay, ut

    my !riend says these mountains are eauti!ul all year round 1 a great hiking spot !or spring, a eauti!ul tent camp

    landscape !or summer and autumn, with tiny !ast mountain rivers that ama'ed me with their pureness, and a

    couple o! per!ect skiing resorts that do not yield to the Austrian or anadian ones even a tiny it. @eople o! +estern

    kraine ama'ed me as well, especially the elderly 1 very smiley, very positive and very active. %he west was

    asically the $rst place to which my !riend took me, and it made me !all in love with the kraine completely. Drom

    the arpathians we travelled to >viv 1 a gorgeous medieval city that is somewhat similar to @rague yet is very

    special in its atmosphere: 00 year old castles, wooden churches, gothic catholic temples and palaces, owers at

    every corner and on every window seal, original lock pavement streets o! the *ld ity Ftare #istoG, and lots o!

    people in eauti!ul national clothes 1 vishivanki Femroidered white shirtsG. >viv is a magical city and it !ueled me

    with inspiration to see the rest o! the country.

    (e4t my !riend took me to ?apori'h'hya 1 an Eastern city with an impossile to pronounce name and two thousand

    years o! history. %he city is uilt on two anks o! the River Cnipro, and has an island in the middle 1 Bhortitsa 1 the

    iggest river island in the world. %he place is very spiritual 1 no wonder that so many centuries ago the wild tries

    o! ski;s and sarmates, and later the cossaks F!amous krainian soldiers o! H00"HJ00’s, that had a long moustache,

    a long !orelock and wore wide red trousersG, uilt their !orti$cations on the Bhortitsa Island. %he ity itsel! seemed

    to me to e still very oviet"like in its spirit and atmosphere, so it was interesting !or me to take photos o! their

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    !amous dam with the huge >enin statue pointing at it, and the !actories that were once the pride o! the R and,

    ama'ingly, still success!ully !unction !or e4port purposes nowadays.

    *ur ne4t stop was rimea 1 a ig heart"shaped peninsula that is washed y two seas 1 the &lack ea and the A'ov

    ea Fthe shallowest in the world, y the wayG, has eauti!ul mountains, !antastic crystal caves and scenic deep

    lakes. It’s a very pictures-ue place 1 so green, so virginal, so unlike anything I have seen e!ore. %he pictures I took

    at the rimea I consider to e one o! the est series in my photo collection. +e also attended a wine !estival inBokteel, where they make pretty good local wine, visited Askania (ova 1 a marvelous iosphere reserve sanctuary

    estalished in the nineteenth century. A great chance to get a scope o! what the country’s nature was like some

    twelve hundred years ago, still very much unpopulated and virginal.

     %here was one thought that didn’t leave my mind, even !or a second, during the whole time I spent in kraine: 7I

    cannot elieve that this country and its !antastic nature, history and culture are so unknown to the rest o! the

    world9 kraine was a true discovery !or me, and one o! those times when your e4pectations are nothing like what

    you really see. I have visited this country two more times over the past three years, and every time my impression

    got !uller and !uller. I! you should ask me what place I can recommend to those avid and lasK travellers who seem

    to have seen it all, I’d say without a second o! hesitation: 7Lo to kraine +hatever you will e4pect 1 this will still

    ama'e and astonish you9

     A Trip to the End of the World

    Rating: 5.0

    It was supposed to e another oring winter. Every year, as soon as that particularly thick !og and white crisp snow

    covered the village o! Rams2M, its three hundred inhaitants would start spending all their !ree time indoors, either

    sleeping or trying to wake up. %his is what people mostly did in winter in Rams2M 1 a small wedish village located

    right in the middle o! nowhere, on the shores o! a eauti!ul lake that, unlike the inhaitants o! Rams2M, never !ro'e

    even during the most severe winter seasons. +inter usually started very early in this part o! the country, and it

    meant that all li!e would hiernate almost completely !or eight or nine months to come. Everyone was used to this

    kind o! weather here. Everyone ut >ara. he came to Rams2M only three years ago, and she still hasn’t !orgotten

    what li!e was like outside this sleepy hollow den.

    >ara came to Rams2M to work at the local vineyard. he loved the work here. he 2ust wasn’t into the whole wedish

    moody depressive climate and li!estyle. A native o! #unich, >ara was used to having an active social li!e, a hundred

    and one ac-uaintances, and a wide variety o! places to go out to in the evenings. +ell, one thing she didn’t have

    prolems with here was getting ac-uainted. It seemed that two months a!ter >ara had arrived in the village,

    everyone already knew her, and some !our months later she already knew everyone here as well. 7Everyone9 eing

    the three hundred and two inhaitants o! Rams2M, most o! whom work in the vineyards or the local !orestry.

    >ara’s $rst two winters in Rams2M were scarily -uiet and stress"!ree. It was not that she didn’t e4pect the place to e

    that way, ut it seemed that she already had enough o! the -uietness and rela4ation to start $nding it rather

    depressive. he craved !or sunny days, right lue skies and smiley !aces. %hat is why >ara long ago decided that

    this winter would e di;erent !rom the previous two that she had spent here. >ara decided it actually wouldn’t hurt

    to travel around a little, the only prolem eing that she didn’t know what was there to see in wintery weden. &ut

    then it suddenly occurred to her that she was closer than ever to the !airy tale land that every child !rom anywherein the world knows aout 1 the >apland. It was right there, a !our"hour trip in her N and then another hour and a

    hal! on the local transport that looked like a comination o! a caterpillar tractor and a land attleship. &ut, as scary

    as it looked, it was the only way to travel around in the severe weather o! the candinavian mountains.

    +hen >ara $nally got to the heart o! Dinnish Borvatunturi 1 the residence o! anta laus 1 she was already tired and

    sleepy. It was proaly due to the wedish care!ul and delierate li!estyle. &ut, as soon as she came closer to the

    small village house that looked like a postcard picture, three cute little elves dressed all in green and with little ells

    sewed to their cones, approached her. %wo o! them took >ara y each side and the third one pointed at the house,

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    speaking some weird language and talking in a very weird childish voice, hal!"laughing and hal!" whispering. %hat is

     2ust as much as it took !or >ara to start !eeling like she was part o! the !airy tale. &eing a clear"eyed =O"year"old

    woman, she suddenly !elt like a gullile little girl who woke up in the !airy tale. >ara !ollowed the elves inside the

    house, and suddenly !elt so warm, so com!ortale and so6 at home. %he elves pointed at the old rown arm chair

    y the $replace, and ran away, leaving the sounds o! their contagious 2oy!ul laughter ringing in >ara’s ears. %he girl

    hopped on the arm chair, tucked her legs underneath hersel! and stretched her arms towards the warm vies o! the

    $re. he didn’t even notice when an old man with a ig white eard, dressed all in red, -uietly approached her y

    the side and gently put his right arm on her shoulder.7+ell, hello there, dear. 8ou’ve grown up so much since your

    last visit, my girl9.

    The Climb

    I have this fear. It causes my legs to shake. I breakout in a cold sweat. I start jabbering to anyone who isnearby. As thoughts of certain death run through my

    mind, the world appears a precious, treasured place. Iimagine my own funeral, then shrink back at theimplications of where my thoughts are taking me. ystomach feels strange. y palms are clammy.

    I am terrified of heights.

    !f course, it"s not really a fear of being in a high

    place. #ather, it is the view of a long way to fall, ofrocks far below me and no firm wall between me andthe edge. y sense of security is screamingly absent.$here are no guardrails, flimsy though I picture them, or other safety devices. I can rely only on my ownsurefootedness%or lack thereof.

    &espite my fear, two summers ago I somehowfound myself climbing to a high place, while 'uakinginside and out. ost of our high school had come alongon a day trip to the (o'uer)n, a gorgeous, lush spot inthe foothills of *eru. Its prime attraction is the main

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    waterfall, about + feet high, that thunders into acrystal clear pool feeding the Aguaytia #iver. All aroundthe pool and on down to the rushing river are boulders

    large and small. $he beach is strewn with rocks. !nboth sides of the fall, the jungle stretches to meet it,rising parallel to it on a gentler slope.

     After eating our sack lunches within sight andsound of the fall, many of us wanted to make the climbto an area above it. -e knew others had done so onprevious trips. A few guys went first to make sure theywere on the right path. (ut after they left, my group ofseven decided to go ahead without waiting for them toreturn. I suspected we were going the wrong way, but Ikept silent, figuring that the others knew better. -ewent along the base of the hill until we reached theclimb. It stopped me in my tracks.

    $he climb ascended steeply above us. Along theright edge the jungle hugged the rocks passagethrough its trees did not look feasible. $he majority ofmy view was filled with rocks. /ooming high to the sky,the boulders rose in a tiered manner. *eering backdown toward the river, I saw a steep slope of rocks allthe way to the water. All I could think about was how far 

    it would be to fall.

    y tense thoughts were interrupted by thereali0ation that my friends were already beginning toclimb1 y an2iety increased as I watched them.

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    Do I turn back? y whole being shouted, 34es15 Will I regret it later? I really want to get to the top, but…

    I voiced my uncertainties to my friends. $heydismissed my fears and encouraged me to stick it out.6uestioning my own sanity, I decided at least toattempt the climb.

    I chose a path that seemed easiest. y friend $omwas ahead of me. $hen, suddenly, he slipped and slidbackward about + feet1 I watched, paraly0ed, until he

    stopped himself and assured us he was all right. yheart was hammering.

    Now those who had tried the other way came backit had not worked. 7onsoling myself that my friend Sethwould be right behind me, I shakily began the ascent.$he 3path5 led up a narrow area between boulders. In

    it, we reached a place where there just were no goodhandholds. Seth braced my foot, and those above sentdown words of encouragement. I was soon past thefirst challenge safely, but not feeling much better aboutthe rest of the climb.

    $he difficulties only increased from that point on,with scary spot after scary spot. $hough I knew I shouldnot look down, I could not always ignore the long dropto the boulders below. y breathing sped up, but myheart pounded even faster, growing loud in my ears.

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    y friends kept right on climbing. (ut they did notforget me. Someone was always behind me to helphold my feet steady when necessary, and someone

    else was always ahead to offer a hand up. I trustedthem more than myself I knew my feet could easilyslip. -ith friends supporting me by words and actions, Islowly gained ground.

    8inally we came to the worst section yet. $o me theslope looked very close to vertical. $he slighthandholds were few and far between. (eing short, Iknew the stretches would be difficult enough in normalconditions. In my current panic, it would be muchworse. $he alternative was to go back down. -hichwas more difficult9 I didn:t want to go either way, butobviously I had to go somewhere.

    $he trouble was, we were not getting any nearer to

    the falls. (y now, we reali0ed that this route was not theway most fre'uented1 (ut knowing this did not get meany closer to safety.

    Since getting up this ne2t part was ne2t toimpossible, and waiting for a rescue helicopter was notan option, with fear and trembling I decided to go down,

    but not by myself. elody agreed to go with me,earning my eternal gratitude. She paused to pray forsafety I did not trust my voice enough to pray aloud.

    Now, with our backs to the rocks, the drop wascontinually in our line of vision. It seemed even steeper

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    than before. $he song 3Angels -atching !ver e5 ranthrough my head as we began, elody going first. Ikept up a steady stream of chatter, my trembling voice

    betraying my fear.

    !ne of the first tough places we came to gave ustrouble. 7autiously stretching one foot down, elodycould not reach the bottom of the boulder. A slip wouldmean an e2tremely long drop. So we tried a differentroute where a fall would be shorter. It was somewhatwet and would entail a short slide to reach the bottom.

    elody made it safely. I hesitated, unsure of myfooting, and picturing myself at the bottom of the cliff,bones broken and pain wracking my body, if I still lived.

    34ou can do it1 I:m right here,5 elody called. Shewaited patiently, not pressuring me to hurry.

    Inching carefully to the edge, I could see in thecorner of my eye the boulders and river far below. As Istarted down the rock, my foot slipped1 y heart

     jumped into my throat as the terror I had held just under the surface swept over me.

    I’m gonna fall!  I inwardly shrieked.

    It had been only a small slip, however I was not inmidair1 I took a few calming breaths, and my heartrepositioned itself where it belonged.

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    -ith no further mishaps, we came eventually to thelast troublesome spot, the stretch between twoboulders that had given me problems on the way up.

    $hankfully, the rest of our friends had given up climbingto the top and had now caught up to us. $here weretwo possible descents from here. !ne way included ashort jump down. I decided to check out the other way.Seth was working his way down this second routewhen he fell a few feet and bruised himself1 I againlooked over the first option.

    Do I want to jump? There’s a big rop if I jumpwrong or on’t stop on the lege! ut the other way…! 

    I knew if I was to get down, it would have to beSeth"s way. ;e was willing to help me however hecould. I inspected the 3path5 he had taken. $here wassome low vegetation, matted down and sloping slightly

    toward the edge. $hen came a drop down to a narrowinlet between rocks. $hat was not so bad. $he hitch layin the fact that there was no handholds or footholds,and my short legs would not reach to the rocks.

    3

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    3I"m coming down,5 I warned, my voice unsteady.

    3I"m ready,5 answered Seth. 3I got you.5

    ;is assurances gave me the strength to go on. Itrusted him implicitly. 8lattening myself onto my belly, Iedged my feet into midair. Seth held them tightly andslowly lowered me, guiding my feel to a firm place as Ilet my body slide over the leaves, twigs, and rock.-hen my feet made contact with the solid rock, Iheaved a huge sigh of relief. I could feel the fear

    draining out of me.

    y arms and legs were scratched up I was dirtyand sweaty. (ut none of it mattered. I was at thebottom1

    34aaaaaaahhhh15 I yelled. I never felt so alive, andso thankful for that life.

    The Boy with John Travolta Blue Eyes

    ;igh school alone is the hardest part of anyteenager"s life, but when it gets mi2ed in with anawkward adolescent"s idea of liking someone, life turnsinto a whirlwind emotional adventure. /ike my plate

    wasn"t overflowing already with a chemistry teacherwho called me 37rash5 =a name I ac'uired afterdropping a beaker during our first lab>, a sassy algebrateacher who said that I didn:t have the aptitude for thesubject, or a 8rench teacher who flirted with the class

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    and laughed at her own jokes. No, I complicated thingseven further because stupid me fell in love.

    It all started one morning at my locker as I fumbledto find the 8rench book I hadn"t used in about a month.In the crowded locker bay someone stepped on mytoes and, conse'uently, rammed me into the absolute0enith of high school popularity standing to my right. Iaccidentally hit iss *opularity while she attempted toapply lipstick. In the reflection of the three mirrors thathung in her locker, I saw a red smear across her acne?free, rouged cheek. I also saw the image of the personresponsible for this collision. -hen I turned to get abetter glimpse, there he was.

    /ockers may have slammed, iss *opularity mayhave pouted, but everything stopped for me. All I sawwas him. It felt like someone had reached down my

    throat and, with strong fingers, drew my breath andstomach from my trembling body. ;is sapphire eyesdrilled deep into my heart, and every nuance of his facebecame eternally etched into my mind. $he tall, thinbody stood out like a glistening jewel among the dullcoal of the locker bay. Sensing my eyes burning deepinto him, he turned around and said, 3Ah, sorry. y

    bad.5 $he words were spoken by a voice that could talka man down from a ledge. I could tell by the tone andinflection that he felt deep remorse in his soul fordisplacing my body%or maybe the burrito he had atlunch didn"t agree with him, I"m not really sure. 8rom

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    that moment on, during every free second, I suddenlybecame busy thinking about him. -ondering about thisboy made sleepless nights overflow with sweet images.

    &ull math periods were filled with idol daydreams. Ibecame obsessed with this senior with @ohn $ravoltablue eyes.

    I wasn"t the only one who decided that having (lueEyes as a boyfriend was a good idea. iss *opularitydecided that he, out of all the salivating dogs begging,whimpering, pawing for her attention, would be theperfect playful puppy. -orse yet, I had to witness herprimitive flirting ritual in the lunchroom.

    She would strut toward the soda machine, swayingher hips from side to side, in an effort to catch one ofhis incandescent blue eyes. She was beautiful and sheknew it. $his was when it really started to get good%for 

    him I mean. *urposely, her skirt inched up revealingher fleshy thigh as she struggled to remove a 'uarternestled in her warm pocket. (lue Eyes was rabid withlust. 8oam gushed out of his mouth and fire burnedwithin his eyes. ;e was imagining the heat of the metal,so close to her body, then falling from her manicuredhand to the floor. As he picked the coin up, those blue

    eyes e2amined every centimeter of her shapely legs.;e was so close he could smell the sweetness of herperfume mi2ed with laundry detergent and the playfulscent of teenage girl.

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    $he whole scene caused a churning in my stomach,which turned to a hopeless nausea. $he colorful worldof love turned into a black, grey pit. Every strand of my

    hair hung like a ?pound weight. $here was no way Iwas going to give in to iss *opularity, who justhappened to be my best friend. 4es, yes, I was thegoofy sidekick. She could turn the world on with hersmile, and I couldn"t turn the world on with anything .

    $hrough friends, ac'uaintances, and the gruelingdetailed accounts from iss *opularity, I slowly gainedmore knowledge about my new love.

    3!h, /isa, he smells so good15

    Smile. "eah, #iss $opularity, I bet anything with a pulse smells goo to you%

    3And he"s so sweet15

    (igger smile. &h, an why is he so sweet? #aybeit’s that shapely boy of yours%

    3(ut I might have to work on his style a bit. $henhe"ll be really hot15

    Smile. Nod. Then he’ll be hot!? If the ki got anyhotter he' be illegal in () states an * territories! Thisboy shoul not be allowe to roam aroun in public%

     All the basics%name, address, and hobbies%slowly unfolded, and an elaborate plan of action for an

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    encounter started to form in my mind. (ut before it hada chance to fully develop, I had a surprise (lue Eyessiting. ;e came to my photography class during one of

    his study halls =by this time I knew his schedule> to doe2tra work on one of his pictures. y mind raced myhands shook. Should I act like I like him9 Should I notnotice him9 Should I talk to him9

    Talk to him% +e’s your best frien’s boyfrien% Talkto him! &h, how can I look at his cherubic face when Iknow he'll be looking back at mine? I on’t beliee it%+e’s got to be kiing% I on’t beliee he’s wearing thatshirt% +e looks so goo in that shirt% +ow can I talk tosomeone who looks that goo in a shirt? That cottonclings to just the right places, an his jeans aresculpte to enhance an accentuate that s-uee.ablysoft…

    So distracted by the mental roller coaster I was on, Icouldn"t speak when he said, 3*hat print.5

    /eft with my eyes agog, I missed my oneopportunity to speak with that walking, talking piece ofartwork. &ays dragged on and so did iss *opularity"srelationship with (lue Eyes. ;e would nip at her heels

    as they walked down the hall. $hey would cuddle inclass, and she would even feed him at lunch1 -hatever the phoniest couple thing that you"ve seen, they did it.I"m surprised that people weren"t driven to violent

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    nausea and fits of puking when they saw themtogether.

    (ut like most good things, their relationship had tocome to an unfortunate end. After (lue Eyes wasn"tsuch a new puppy for iss *opularity, their relationshipdeteriorated. 8rom what I gathered after late nightconfessionals with iss *opularity, he wasn"t learningany new tricks.

    /ater that year I went to his graduation, and with the

    toss of his cap and the flip of his tassel, a sense ofdefeat and despair filled my body.

    /oo0bye% 1esus #ary 1oseph, you are such aniiot% "ou obsesse oer him for almost a year! Do youreali.e you neer spoke one wor to him? 2ot a singlesyllable% "es, but if you ha he woul hae laughe at

    you an your silly, girlish crush% "ou in’t esere himin the first place%

    &h, but I really like him% I like him so much, anhe in’t een know I was alie! 

    /et oer it% +alf the school oesn’t een knowyou’re alie%

    I watched his blue ;onda 7ivic race away. -ith thepeel of the tires and the smell of burning rubber, I knewhe had gone forever.

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    $hen the pain lifted from my body, like a heavyweight, and was replaced by a feeling ofaccomplishment and relief. I made it through the

    grueling torture of a high school crush and lived to tellabout it. $here e2isted no class project hard enough orcafeteria food indigestible enough to even compare.

    Narrative Essay

     

    Attitude Is Everything

    Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. Whensomeone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

    He was a unique manager beause he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. hereason the waiters followed Jerry was beause of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a badday, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

    eeing this style really made me urious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don#t get it! $ou an#t be a positiveperson all of the time. How do you do it%" Jerry replied, "&ah morning I wake up and say to myself, #Jerry, you have twohoies today. $ou an hoose to be in a good mood or you an hoose to be in a bad mood.# I hoose to be in a good mood.&ah time something bad happens, I an hoose to be a vitim or I an hoose to learn from it. I hoose to learn from it.&very time someone omes to me omplaining, I an hoose to aept their omplaining or I an point out the positive sideof life. I hoose the positive side of life."

    "$eah, right, it#s not that easy," I protested. "$es it is," Jerry said. "'ife is all about hoies. When you ut away all the (unk,

    every situation is a hoie. $ou hoose how you reat to situations. $ou hoose how people will affet your mood. $ou hooseto be in a good or bad mood. he bottom line) It#s your hoie how you live life." I refleted on what Jerry said.

    oon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touh, but I often thought about him when Imade a hoie about life instead of reating to it. everal years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are neversupposed to do in the restaurant business) he left the bak door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by threearmed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand shaking from nervousness, slipped off the ombinations. he robberspaniked and shot him.

    'ukily, Jerry was found relatively quikly and rushed to the loal trauma enter. *fter + hours of surgery and weeks ofintensive are, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about si-months after the aident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I#d be twins. Wanna see my

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    sars%" I delined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took plae.

    "he first thing that went through my mind was that I should have loked the bak door," Jerry replied. "hen, as I lay on thefloor, I remembered I had two hoies) I ould hoose to live, or I ould hoose to die. I hose to live."

    "Weren#t you sared% id you lose onsiousness%" I asked.

    Jerry ontinued, "he paramedis were great. hey kept telling me I was going to be fine. /ut when they wheeled me intothe emergeny room and I saw the e-pressions on the faes of the dotors and nurses, I got really sared. In their eyes, Iread, #He#s a dead man.# I knew I needed to take ation."

    "What did you do%" I asked.

    "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "he asked if I was allergi to anything. #$es,# Isaid. he dotors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, #/ullets!# 0vertheir laughter, I told them, "I am hoosing to live. 0perate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

    Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his dotors, but also beause of his ama1ing attitude. I learned from him that every day wehave the hoie to live fully. *ttitude, after all, is everything.

    Narrative Essay  Road tripping with friends is supposed to be fun and exciting. It gives me an opportunity to ump in the car and

    explore somewhere or something that I have never experienced. !y "##$ trip to %hicago was both nerve wrec&ing

    and exciting at the same time because I got to be in certain situations that I have never been in before.

      I remember the first time I went to %hicago, my thenboyfriend and I were in rush hour traffic. !y heart was

    thumping in my chest so fast because I have never seen traffic li&e that before in my life. %ars were bumper to

     bumper, yet people were still trying to fit their vehicle in spaces no bigger than a toothpic&. I decided right then and

    there that these fol&s were cra(y drivers, and I did not want any part of it. I remember thin&ing to myself how 

    delighted I was that I was the passenger and not the driver.

      )e had stopped off at !c*onald's because I had to really use the bathroom. I was relieved when I reached my 

    destination. I turned the handle to the bathroom, but the door was loc&ed. I sat bac& down for a while, and went bac& 

    to the lady's room. I attempted this feat five times. !y ex ust sat there loo&ing at me stupid. He said, + They &eep the

    door loc&ed at all times because of the crac&heads going in there getting high. ou will have to get the lady up front to

    unloc& it for you+. Hello, I am from a small town and the population is -#,### therefore, I have never encountered

    this problem+. eedless to say, I was not a happy camper.

      /ater that night we went wal&ing on the water front. It was windy and somewhat chilly, but the lights reflecting off 

    the buildings added a little romance to the evening. !aurice showed me 0ears Tower, and I was so excited because

    the building was so tall. I felt li&e my nec& was going to brea& loo&ing up at it. I am a pretty tall woman, but compared

    to that building I felt 1 inches tall. Then we drove by %hina Town, I was really ama(ed at how beautiful it was. The

     buildings had signs on them written in %hinese language. 2verything was lit up li&e a %hristmas tree. It reminded meof some Hollywood movie up close and personal.

      In essence, the trip to %hicago was definitely unforgettable, but I am glad that I too& it. I had experienced things that

    I may not have ever been able to experience again. I saw a lot of wonderful and beautiful scenery. !ost importantly, I

    learned that any of my future trips will be made without me behind the wheel. 3eing a passenger can be stressful

    enough at times.

    http://www.freeessayexample.com/2009/12/narrative-essay.htmlhttp://www.freeessayexample.com/2009/12/narrative-essay.html

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    "The Birth of My Baby Brother, Joe"

    I was very happy when my baby brother, 4oe, was born. It was exciting. I will never forget it. It happened last year, on 4une

    "5. !y mom gave birth to him, and I finally got to have a little brother. His birth day is very special to me.

    The day started li&e any other normal day. I wo&e up. I thin& I ate pop tarts for brea&fast. I wore a green shirt with a tractoron it. !y mom's due date wasn't until 4uly "nd, so I didn't thin& he was going to be born that day. I figured it would ust be

    li&e any other day.

    I got on the bus and went to school. I don't remember much of what I learned that day. 3efore it was time to leave at the end

    of the day, 6unt %hloe came to my class and got me out of class early. 0he told me that my mom was at the hospital7 !y baby 

     brother was going to be born soon7 0he said she was going to ta&e me to the hospital . I missed soccer practice.

     6unt %hloe drove me to the hospital. He car smelled li&e dirty clothes. I got to ride the elevator up to my moms room. 0he

    told me that my baby brother would be here before the end of the day. I was so excited7 0he said that she was in labor and

     was having contractions. 0he said it painful and that 6unt %hloe and 8ramma would ta&e care of me while he was being

     born. 0he said she needed *addy to be with her. 0he told me she loved me. I as&ed her how long it would be and she said +Idon't &now, but hopefully soon.+ !y dad told me to be good for 6unt %hloe, and not cause any problems.

    0o, 6unt %hloe too& me home. 0he got me dinner at 3urger 9ing. I thin& I got chic&en nuggets. !y mom called me after that,

    and said +8uess what7 4oe is going to be born, but I'm going to have a csection. 0he told me that a csection is a surgery to

    get the baby out.+ I said, +&ay, when can I meet him;+ 0he said, +Hopefully soon7+

    0o, the next thing I new, 6unt %hloe and I were on the way to the hospital, even though it was almost my bed time. I got to

    see my baby brother through the glass. I couldn't see my mom because my dad said that she was in recovery. 6fter a little bit,

    my mom came in a wheelchair, and she held my baby brother 4oe.

    I got to see him for the first time7 He was so tiny7 I didn't &now that babies came that small. He had a lot of dar&, blac& hair.It was as dar& as a tree stump. He was sleeping. )e went to the hospital room, and later, my dad said I could hold him if I

     was really still. I sat on the couch with a pillow, and my dad sat next to me and let me hold him. He didn't cry at all. He ust

    slept.

     6 few days later, my mom and 4oe got to come home. It was so nice to finally have a little brother, even if he can't play with

    me yet. He is now ten months old. He does cry sometime, but mostly he is a good little boy. He li&es it when I ma&e funny

    faces and when I blow bubbles. I'm so glad he was born.