The struggle is real...Our latest homework assignment was to
do a reading covering the five characteristic features of narrative writing and
to then come up with two to three potential topics we want to use for our first
narrative essay and discuss how we will apply these characteristics to each
topic; here’s the problem: I can’t think of one single topic to write about. What’s to follow is going to be my process of
talking myself through the metal block that I have and finishing this assignment…here
goes.
Life story…way too long, I’m definitely going to have to
pick a portion of my life (duh Adrienne)
Highlights:
1.
Birth: gross, no cognitive thoughts to go along
with a good narration.
2.
Kid years: fun times with cousins, lots of nonspecific
blobs of memories…nothing good standing out here. (maybe come back to this)
-cousins:
-spy games: Yak Penguin Snake
* event – the most devious game ever invented to annoy younger sister
and cousin
*setting – childhood home – summer time
*details
– not allowed to overtly annoy younger siblings, parents had banned us from
being a nuisance…spying was a fun thing to do so we(Michael and I) could
collaborate our findings to thoroughly annoy them without breaking said parents
rule of pestering younger siblings. Steph & Thenes knew what spying was and
would tell on Michael and I for doing it, so we started playing YPS aka Yak
Penguin Snake, our most awesome code name for spying on them. Our parents just
thought it was some harmless game where we pretended to be said animals, Steph
and Thenes bought into this as well; we were able to successfully spy on them
without their knowing. Very clever for a pair of 8 year olds.
*POV – 1st person
*Point
– childhood games are awesome, my cousin and I were geniuses or so we
thought, younger siblings didn’t catch on to our antics till YEARS later…although
claim that they had and just allowed us to spy on them.
3.
Teen years: nah
4.
Navy:
-Joining: spur of the moment, not enough to properly
elaborate on…
-boot camp/school: ick
-first ship/deployment: (I’ve got pictures!!)
*event – finally getting to my first
ship and getting ready for my first deployment overseas
*setting –Pearl Harbor Hawaii, USS
Chafee
*details
– finding out I was heading to Hawaii for first duty station and reaction,
arrival in Hawaii – super nerve wracking, my ship was u/w and I was left to
fend for myself and figure out how the heck to get to pearl harbor(it was December
1st, night time, I was leaving a snowy Dallas and arriving,
completely over dressed, in a hot and sticky Hawaii) (I totally thought PH was
on a completely different island, lack of smart phones in 06 made this
assumption easy), (remembering that I have friends already in Hawaii from same
school I just graduated from), finding the USO at the airport & getting in
touch with someone to help me out. (Check in at TPU) finally getting a hold of
my friends in pearl and going for a night time walk around PH. Finally for the
first time ever seeing a naval vessel..(JP taking me around the RSL) Finally
checking in on my ship- watching it pull into pearl, waiting in my dress whites
with a few other sailors to also check in. getting a quick tour of my own ship
before Christmas stand down started (boat pulled in on Dec 23rd)
being left to fend for myself for two weeks while ½ the crew went home. Had my
friend Jess to hang out with but we had separate duty days. Meeting new people I
was going to be working with for the next 4.5 years; getting ready for deployment in march. My first
u/w’s (sea sick as heck, wanting to get out of the navy after first few weeks
of constantly being sick)
*POV:
my own (1st person)
*Point: sticking to my commitment to the
military & powering through what may have been the roughest part of my career;
but also a set up to the trials that would be my career and the amazing
experiences I’ve had.
- More deployments:
(adventures, work, mostly a blur)
-Reenlisting: quick
event, only wanted to so I could get shore duty, not monumental enough for
story.
-Ending sea duty/
starting shore duty: excited for something new, burnt out on the ocean life,
slow paced, not good for stories.
-Adventures in
doggie paddling (I’ve got pictures too!!)
*event:
my first canoe paddling competition (6 man outrigger canoe)
*setting: Honolulu ocean fest
2013 – Waikiki beach
*details: assembling our team
(volunteers from our command, not everyone had paddled before, I’d only done it
a few times before, others on our team were actual semi pro paddlers)
Our first practice (despite our hodgepodge
of random expertise, went surprisingly well, very excited) (water conditions
were pretty good, had a decent tide to work against and with) day of competition
(nerve-wracking, did we practice enough? Realizing we’re the most inexperienced
team competing, we were in the first heat of the paddling competition) first
race – up against 4 canoes, paddling with same line up as practice, I’m number
4, digging deep for every stroke, off rhythm…loose; get moved to losers
bracket) switching up our line up, I’m #5 now, #1 & 2 switch places,
feeling better now that we know what to expect, win our next two heats &
win the losers pool
*POV: my own (1st
person)
*Point: being first looser
still feels pretty good
5.
Getting out of the navy: exhilarating, nerve-wracking, no good
narrative…too long of an uneventful process mostly
6.
Moving to WA/going to school: plot still
developing
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