In the morning, I often come across my father’s many mugs, still half-full of coffee. I could never tell when it was made, as he indulged a cup irrelevant of the time of day. What I did know was that this half-filled mug would mean another project. It was another stretch of long work hours, and it triggered emotions inside of me that would sometimes drive tears to my eyes. Whether it was an overwhelming sense of appreciation, or a rising feeling of empathy in my chest, I could never seem to describe the sensation very well. Moments like this one, imagining my father, driven by his responsibility to care for his family, working long hours, helped me do my best in everything. It helped me choose the right decision, even when I’m tempted with an easy one. The main focus of my essay will be what I’ve learned growing up in the apartment where we started, and in the house we now live in, from having my father in my life, and how it has made me who I am today.

I hope those who read this would relate to the experience of having a figure in their life they learn from. While my experience does emphasize growing up in my adolescent and young adult years, the experience of having this role model is, in my opinion, not limited to this particular part of our lives.

In writing this narrative about my personal experience, I think I would like to figure out for myself exactly the values I have grown up with, in order to clarify my reasons for choosing the career path I am currently in today. As a personal essay, I feel as though it should be about self-discovery, and in taking the time to think about the most influential figure in my life, I think it would help to seeing more of myself as a person.

FREE-WRITE

When I find myself standing against a tough situation, I always confront it by first, reminding myself who I am. What that means is, reminding myself of the values I hold important in my life. With this perspective displayed in front of me, I feel more capable overcoming a difficult, sometimes painful, situation. When I find myself faced with a big decision, I also carry out this process in my mind. Having my values in mind helps me weigh my options, and I feel more satisfied with the decision I make. In these critical moments, I feel great gratitude towards my father, who has held the role of a sculptor in my life.

 

SELF-REVIEW

You definitely need to sit down and think about which personal values you are planning to explore, and which experiences specifically you will describe to not only depict the value itself, but also the experience you had learning that lesson.

You need to be careful to avoid simply describing what you learned, and try to allow the readers to learn what that lesson is through the scene of your experience. The follow-up to your scenes can be a more in-depth description of what you learned, but avoid lecturing about your beliefs.

For your digital story, maybe recreating the setting of the most impactful experiences would be a good visual. Think about whether music would be a good addition. Think about what specifically you would like to take out of this essay for your digital story: an experience that would be best depicted with audio and visuals, or the experience that impacted you the most?

Remember to connect these experiences with your current career path, and your current goals for the future. Again, avoid lecturing about your personal beliefs, and try to put more effort into making more descriptive scenes.  

 

DRAFT SCENE

My father was a busy man. He stood taller than me, and often placed a hand of comfort on my head, tousling my hair, and it would embarrass me. When he wasn’t around, however, I knew he was working, or sleeping after long hours of work. He spent most of his time in front of his computer screen, project after project. Before I realized how much time had passed, I noticed the lines of gray hair on his head. Still, his work ethic had not changed. This wasn’t a passion or obsession with work; I knew it was the duty of caring for us, his family, that pulled him through the long hours.