(14) Personal Narrative

Enrique Garcia

Steadman

WRTG 150

30 Nov 2015

    How Far I’ve Come

“That was so awesome honey! So glad we were here to see it.” Mom said giving me a hug with a beaming smile.

It’s so great to see her as happy as she is right now. I wish I could graduate more often and relive this joy we all feel. Having my family all here means the world. Speaking of them, where is everyone?

I looked around searching for the other lost sheep. I guarantee we wouldn’t have stayed together even if we had tied our hands together. Past all of the other clusters of people taking pictures and joyfully celebrating, I spotted a few familiar silhouettes.

“Hey, there they are.” I pointed to the top of the 3rd level of stairs on the north side. My gaze turned to see an arm waving in the air. It was my grandma. I could read her lips and excitement present on her face, “Hi Rique!”

I was so grateful to have my family there to cheer me on. After making my way through the bustling ‘black friday' crowds, I met up with my family. We stood off to the side of the entrance stairs.

“Why won’t my camera on my iPhone take anymore pictures? Enrique, please help!” Grandma said, while handing her phone over to me. I noticed her storage had reached its max.

“Well that is just grand. Nevermind then, who’s ready to eat?” Grandma exclaimed.

“Are you buying?” Grandpa said with his usual sarcasm.

Grandma casually ignored him, something she often did after similar comments.

We spun into the parking lot of the Orem Dairy Queen with nothing but joy on our faces.

What better way to celebrate a great day than some good ol’ Dairy Queen? This day has been one remarkable day to remember. Indescribable was the happiness and optimism. The only thing I want to do now is relax and enjoy it. The best way to do that is spend the rest of the day with my family laughing and enjoying time together. I was the first one at the door, like usual. I burst through the door of the classic fast food restaurant. I felt a rush of cool, conditioned air as I did so. We anxiously walked up to the front table to place our order.

    “What kind of blizzard do you want?” I said turning to my older brother.

    “The only kind I like.. cookies and cream,” he responded.

“Okay, let’s go sit down. I need to take a few minutes off my feet.” Mom said, her face flushing to a ripe strawberry. We were all feeling the intense heat from the blazing sun as it was at the peak of the summer.

I ordered my usual butterfinger flavor, then we all filed into the I am with my mom, sister, brother, grandparents, my aunt, and her kids. While we waited, Mom and Grandma pulled out their graduation cards -- my favorite part of the whole day. One of the cards read these simple words:

    “Enrique, we couldn’t be more proud of you! You have accomplished so much up until this point. You have taken a path that not many dare to take. It may be hard, but don’t give up now. You have worked too hard to give up on your dreams and the end result. The future is yours; this is only the beginning.

       As I read my heartfelt card, my mind reflected back to my emotions I felt at the beginning of that day. I remember waking up and thinking about my senior theme: How Far We’ve Come. Wow. This is it. I’ve waited so long for this day. It’s finally here. That morning getting ready, I looked through the dusty surface on the mirror in my room.  I had already put my dark blue, silk graduation gown on. I held my cap in my hand, staring at it for a couple seconds in disbelief. I situated the tassel and placed it on my head, the way I wanted it to look during the ceremony. I, then, reached for my National Honor Society cords and my Regents’ Scholarship medal. I felt the cool sensation of metal in my hand. As I held these symbols of accomplishment and success in my hand, I thought, I really did it. I earned these. I could now see it start to come to fruition.

“You look so cute!” my 15 year-old sister said, peeking her head around the corner of her room into mine. That was her way of saying I was ready to go. She wrapped her arms around my waist very proudly and told me she couldn’t wait to see me receive my diploma.

I can tell she is almost excited for me as I am for myself. I will remember this day for a very long time. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I didn’t know how to feel so I just told her thank you and I loved her.

She dropped her arms to her side and said with a solemn look and said, “I’m gonna miss you next year.” We were able to spend high school together for my Senior year and her Sophomore year.

I am so grateful for my family and their increased support for me over my 4 years of high school. I’ll look back on this and always have something to be proud of.