Personal Narrative: 5th Grade High School

5th Grade Graduation

I was nervous. We all were. We filed into the classroom wondering if we would do okay. As we took our seats on the stools lined against tables at the back of the classroom, I felt so anxious that I thought my head was going to burst.

“Focus on something else”, I thought to myself. That 's exactly what I did. I focused on the strong smell of the clorox wipes which we had used earlier to clean every inch of the room. I looked at the troubled faces of all my classmates. Then, our parents walked in. “Don’t videotape me,” I whispered to my mom as she passed me on her way to an empty seat. She just smiled, looking amused. By that time, the fourth graders had started walking into the room and sitting down on the floor in front

I walked up the aisle, not looking at anything or anyone around me. I just stared straight ahead. In my head, a little voice kept saying, “I can’t do this. Why do I have to do this.” Suddenly another voice, a stronger one, said, “I can do this. I definitely can do this.” Somehow, I started feeling that I can do it. That I can say my speech without messing up and embarrassing myself in front of all my classmates and their parents. I reached the front of the room, feeling a lot better about my speech. My teacher handed me a certificate and we turned to where my parents were sitting and smiled so they could take a few pictures. Then, my teacher stepped away to the side of the room, so I could begin. I placed the certificate on the countertop behind me and turned to face the audience. Before I started, I reminded myself that I can do this. I started speaking, keeping that thought in mind, letting it take over, and I felt unusually calm. “My name is Maitri Patel and…” Everything went great. I was able to say the whole speech without messing up. There were a few points where I thought I faltered a bit on some of the words, but I was able to get back on track quickly, and no one noticed. All I had to do was repeatedly remind myself that I could do everything perfectly. When I did that, everything went perfectly, just like I