Personal Narrative Essay -- Essays Papers

Personal Narrative I was bruised, bitten, and banged up, and I loved it. The weekend had completely made my summer and filled in a part of my personality that I never knew existed. My king salmon fishing trip taught me perseverance, trust, tolerance, and that it is not always the trophy, but instead the journey you take along the way. Every summer that I go back to Michigan, my cousin Lance and I take a fishing trip. This year we were after the big ones, king salmon, running up the Manistee River. I was excited yet a little anxious about the expedition that lay ahead of us. For weeks before we left, Lance and all of his friends riddled my mind with horror stories from their past attempts at these mighty fish. Chris, a big burly man with tattoo sleeves, filled me with the most apprehension. The year before, he had hooked into a king that had actually pulled him under a log jam and then snapped the line. Being half of his size, I figured I would be water skiing down the river, being towed by these scaled monsters. How was I ever going to survive this trip? When the day arrived to leave, I was mostly just excited and ready to go, at least until I found out that Lance’s girlfriend, Amber, was going to tag along. I have never met a woman as ice cold as she is. I have known her for nearly seven years, and she ha s been going out with Lance for almost a year, but she still has no problem going through an entire night without saying a word to me or any one else, including Lance. It’s not that she is shy, she is just completely stuck up. She doesn’t even like fishing. What was she doing going on this trip? But I decided to suck it up and enjoy my time out on the river. We packed up all of our supplies and headed out on Friday eveni... ...o I had to rely on Lance to get me home safe. The hardest part of the trip was dealing with Amber. I had to learn to work with someone that I didn’t get along with in the least bit. To get through the weekend however, I had to count on her for certain things. One of the most important traits that I picked up was the ability to laugh at myself. When I fell down I had two options, I could get angry and cry, or I could get up and laugh it off. I chose the second option and have carried it through into my every day life. This is a skill that I will use for the rest of my life. Lastly, by not landing a fish I was able to appreciate the trip for the experience instead of the trophy at the end. This is something that everyone could use to help them enjoy life for the little things. I know that my king salmon fishing trip helped to change me for the better.