Personal Narrative: My Bedroom

Standing alone in a pitch black room, I fed the delicate film through the metal reel. CRACK! I took a breath, repositioned my hands, and continued. CREAK! This cannot be happening. Again? Seriously? SNAP! This was the day I ripped my fifth roll of film. The four previous times it happened, I exited the darkroom, plastered on a smile, and continued on. On this day, however, when the bell rang, I scurried into the nurse’s office, pretending to be ill. Sulking home and locking myself in my bathroom, the bottled up emotions poured out in tears of frustration and embarrassment. Being my eighth mess-up in a month, my confidence was plummeting along with my grade. The thought of being the worst performing student in my class was crippling and
Any free moment I had was spent on photography. Day by day, my knowledge on the topic expanded. Slowly, my 5/12s became 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s, 10s. Brainstorming how I could improve my composition forms, techniques, and print quality, I became increasingly critical of my work. With time came the 11s and 12s. Soon, my photographs were making appearances on the walls with a blue ribbon. Classmates came to me with questions, seeking my advice and never once did I deny a plea for help. Being at the bottom gave me a whole new perspective when I reached the top. So, without a second thought, I assisted the person. They were taking the initiative to improve themselves, and I knew exactly what it felt
Being my first year in AP classes, I was content in achieving my goal of obtaining A’s. The highlight of the year, however, came in a makeshift ceremony held in my photo class. In this ceremony, I received three awards. The first one presented was the Outstanding Student Award for the person with the highest grade. A nice award, sure. My hard work paid off on my transcript and I received an A. More importantly, though, were the next two awards: Most Generous Student and Most Improved Student. All throughout my school years, I have done a satisfactory job in getting my work done and studying for tests. The change that happened in this critical year was in my personal perspective of a work environment and its dynamics. Although self-improvement and reaching new heights is a great achievement, more can be learned through the struggle to get to the desired point. Through my dedication and persistence, I reversed my thinking on an issue that at one point, seemed like the end of the world. It was a novel experience that, as simple as it may sound, transformed the way I think about myself and my capabilities. Being selfish will merely result in momentary satisfaction. The real, lasting fulfillment comes from the realization of how far and hard you worked to improve yourself and those around you. This photo class for me was much more than getting to know a camera and the components of a good