Narrative
Essay
It
was a sunny afternoon of mid-June and we were trapped in this dark portable
watching an old black and white movie. I looked around the class to see
exhausted faces resting on the wooden desks. My eyes were slowly closing but I
could see that witch watching me from the corner of my eye. I couldn’t help but
close them so, I decided to get up and go get a drink of water to wake me up a
bit.
I
opened the door and I was blinded by the sun. I scrunched my eyes as I slowly
walked to the main building. After having a quick drink I was refreshed and
made my way back to the portable. I slowly opened the door and quietly walked
back to my spot.
I
heard the clicks of the teacher’s heels as she made her way to the front of the
class and paused the movie. Then she began to speak. She told us about short
presentations we were having the next day.
That
evening I wrote out what I was going to say and I practiced it over and over
again. I read it out loud to myself, my mother, in front of the mirror and even
to my dog. After all that practice I thought I was confident enough to go up in
front of the class to present.
The
next morning the first thing on the board was the presentations. I was a bit
shocked and began to panic. The teacher asked for volunteers and of course Alex
was the only one up for the challenge. After Alex the teacher began to pick
names from a hat. I sat on my chair holding my paper reading as others went up.
After each presentation I could feel my heart beat get faster every second and
my right leg shaking. But then the lunch bell rang and I could finally breathe
again.
After
lunch we continued to finish the movie from yesterday and the rest of the
presentations were going to be held up until the next day.
Before
going to bed that night, I read it again a couple times. As I lay in bed I
realized all my peers who went up are probably enjoying the night, unlike
myself. I than told myself I will volunteer to go up first and get the
presentation over with.
The
next morning, the teacher asked for volunteers, and I began to panic. She then
called out a name since no one volunteered. I was calmed down for a few seconds
and then I told myself again, I have to go up next rather than carrying the stress.
As the student finished, I slowly raised my hand.
“May
I go next” I said. I made my way to the front and I cleared my throat. I then
began to speak. My hands were shaking but not as much as they were as I sat in
the chair. It was over before I knew it. I walked back to my chair relieved
from all the stress I carried from yesterday. I thought about it after taking a
seat, I did pretty well. I was proud of myself. I then sat through the rest
without the worry of having to go up.
That
night as I lay in bed I reflected on the presentation. It wasn’t perfect but I
was happy with what I did. I than told myself I should continue to keep the
confidence and not panic last minute.
I chose this question because of my interest in fashion. I thought about fashion and realized there is so much more control over what females wear. But why? After researching I came to conclude two main reasons. First, that its too dangerous for women to be dressed in a "revealing way" walking around. Second, thats its too distracting for males. Women are inspired by religion, celebrities and fashion styles but are told they are not "allowed" to wear certain clothes. The harassment by a male is accepted and as a solution women are continuously told how to dress rather than telling men to stop their actions. If I were to continue researching this question, I would take an opportunity to talk to someone who has put rules on female fashion. For example the school administrators because they have put restrictions on shorts.
