marshall sprigg multimedia writing personal narrative final draft

7/30/2019 Marshall Sprigg Multimedia Writing Personal Narrative Final Draft

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Marshall Sprigg

Angel Matos

Multimedia Writing

13 September 2012

The Plunge

We have all had the feeling at some point. Everyone has gone through it in some

aspect of their life. The time has come to jump into the pool and swim. We have learned

how to swim and the techniques involved but now we must be ready to actually do it. To

take a leap of faith and put ourselves to the test. To find out whether we will be capable

of keeping our heads above water or we will drown under the pressure.

It seemed to be an average Sunday morning, but I knew that this would one of the

toughest days of my life. I could not understand how the world around me could appear

so peaceful and normal on a day like this. How the sun could rise like it did every other

morning? Why the sky was clear without a cloud in sight? Why was there a storm raging

inside me while the world around me failed to acknowledge it at all? This was the day I

had dreaded most about the weekend but never imagined would actually arrive. I woke

up in the hotel room I had been staying in since our arrival Thursday night. It was a fairly

nice Hyatt hotel. However, this morning I paid no attention to the furnishings or TV in

the room. Time seemed to be moving slower than usual and I was having trouble coming

to terms with the fact that later that day my parents would actually be leaving me to fend

for myself for the first time in my life.

The normal, everyday actions of the morning are still a blur to me. I dont

remember showering or brushing my teeth at all. Instead my memory picks up as we


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were checking out of the hotel. The usual bustle of a hotel was occurring around me. The

manager continued to welcome people and check them in. The happy cries of children

eagerly awaiting the beginning of a vacation. Why was everyone elses life not as

miserable as mine felt at the moment? How anyone could look so happy on a day like

this. My dad finished checking out and I managed to shuffle outside and into the car we

had rented. The usual conversation we had engaged in on previous days was gone. We all

walked silently while my dad tried to ask what I would like to do today. I managed to

process his question enough to respond with a quiet Whatever you guys want. Since no

one really wanted to do anything it was silently decided upon that we would drive to

campus and walk around for a while. How we all seemed to agree on that without any

communication I will never know.

The next few hours were even more of a blur than earlier. My memories of that

time are just a couple of the images among the blur. Trees. The wind. Building after

building. The sun. Most of all the smiling faces of the families around us. To the

observers we must have made an odd picture. There were my parents and my older sister

who were doing there best to enjoy the time together and take in all the sights of the

campus. And then there was me, quietly moving behind them not really seeing any of the

things around me. We moved from place to place and I cannot actually remember many

of the things we saw or even what was said.

The next concrete memory I have is standing next to the car making our final

goodbyes. Walking through the parking lot to the car for the last time I must have looked

like a prisoner. Taking one dreaded step after another. Moving ever closer to the gallows

in the distant. The hugs were silent; there was nothing to be said. We all knew how the


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other was feeling and nothing could make it better. Then all of a sudden they were in the

car waving goodbye and the reality of the moment struck me. All of a sudden I was

standing there alone and the car was driving off. It was the first time in my life I was truly

alone. I had never been away from home before and now I was going to be spending

months away from everything I had ever known before. It was a jarring realization and I

quickly decided I needed to find a quiet place to sit and collect my thoughts.

For such a large campus it surprised me how hard it was to find any solitude. I

remember wandering around many different paths, first to the library where I explored

many different floors to find somewhere quiet to sit and be alone. Even there I remember

seeing people around me. The last thing I wanted at the time was to talk to anyone or

even acknowledge anyone and I tried to quickly hide from anyone I saw. How well that

worked I have no clue, looking back I wonder how ridiculous I must have looked rushing

from place to place with no clear intent, always changing directions when I came upon

someone. Finally, after what felt like hours I just sat down on a bench I found on the far

edge of campus. Of the place I only remember a few trees and the side of a plain brick

building in front of me. I sat for a while watching the trees and the occasional squirrel,

wishing my life had that kind of simplicity to it. Mostly I watched the sun as it slowly

progressed downwards in the distance. Then I felt my phone vibrate, it was my sister.

How are you feeling? was all it said. Awful was my reply. A few seconds went by

and my phone went off again. Just give it time, I remember my first few days were

tough also but you will adjust.

That was not at all what I wanted to hear. I had expected her to feel bad for me, I

needed sympathy at the moment and I was not getting it. Already feeling how this


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conversation would end I turned off my phone and shoved it angrily back in my pocket.

How could no one understand? For a place that was supposed to be my home I had never

felt more alone and less welcome than ever. Looking around it shocked me how late it

was. The sun had already sunk below the horizon and it was early twilight. It struck me

how fast time had gone by. I had been sitting there, alone, for much longer than I had

expected. Now that I had returned to reality I had to find somewhere to go. The last place

I wanted to go, however, was my dorm room, I was going to be stuck there for the next

couple months and I would never accept that. However, there was nowhere else to go.

Picking myself up I made the painful walk back to my room. I figured I might as well try

to get to know the guys that would become my interim family. It was an extremely

uneventful walk back except for the occasional passerby I attempted to avoid. Back at the

dorm I found the door to my room open with a game of FIFA going on. I took a deep

breath and prepared to take the plunge.

marshall sprigg multimedia writing personal narrative final draft

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