Personal Narrative Essay Sample

Through the hours I spent working with middle school, then high school girls, I continued to develop my passion for working with and empowering young people. Contrary to other Girl Scout leaders, I never turned away a girl who was wanted to be part of our troop. As a result, we were one of the most diverse and inclusive troops in our community. A typical Troop 9 event had representatives of five different religions, polar opposite political orientations, a wide range of the socioeconomic spectrum, and a variety of LGBT statuses. We had a class valedictorian and a high school dropout. Our diagnoses included Asperger’s, ADD (both with and without hyperactivity), Anxiety, Bipolar NOS, a peanut allergy, and, of course, residual brain damage. I refused to allow any of those variables to stop us from achieving accomplishments in everything from ocean-side camping to spending a weekend with on our adopted Navajo grandma’s land, painting the small kitchen attached to her hogan. The successful fundraisers I organized were instrumental to the girls’ ability to function with complete financial independence.

My salient abilities, including my ability to develop creative solutions to challenging circumstances, my skill in helping a person dissect and get to the root of a personal problem, my determination to not equate disability to handicap, my refusal to judge others based on pigmentation, socioeconomic status, sexual/gender preference, religion, politics, or choices of tattoos and piercings, and my personal determination to live based on genuineness, gratitude, and creatively bending societal norms, give me a large and solid foundation upon which to build myself into an authentic and effective