Estevan Contreras Ms.Lehmann English 2-2A 9 October 2019 1000lb Club It all started the summer of my 8th grade year. I was nervous for my first day in the weight room with all the upperclassmen. I woke up that morning with my stomach full of butterflies, and my whole body was shaking from anticipation. The drive from my house to the school made my feelings amplify 10 fold, making my body come alive and my brain become sharp. I was ready and determined. As soon as I walked through the door, reality was far different than what I had pictured. The picture I had in my head was of all the seniors there, lifting crazy amounts of weight (compared to what I was lifting), but in reality it was a couple of sophomores and freshman, people I knew and felt comfortable beginning my lifting journey with. I went through the workout and found my starting points. I felt as though my starting points where pretty good, but one look around told me I was wrong. Everyone else was lifting 2 to 3 times more than me; I felt weak. This was only the beginning of my insecurities. One more look around and, I saw the 1000 lb. club looming high on the wall. Curious about the “club,” I asked “ What is that for?” “That right there is the 1000lb. club. Your deadlift, squat, and bench press have to add up to 1000 lbs,” said one of the coaches that was there, watching us for form and safety. “That is incredible. How can anyone lift that much?” I asked amazed, that a highschooler could lift anywhere near that. That first day made me feel weak and inadequate, but it also put a drive in me to become as strong as possible and make the 1000lb. club. My progress from that point forward was excruciatingly slow and made me feel so mad at myself. I was disappointed that I was so weak and that I couldn’t even come close to any of the guys I lifted with. The feeling I had for myself in those days where hatred and resentment and I felt completely justified. The goal of the 1000lb. club fully consumed me, and I would stop at nothing to make it. It wasn’t only contained within my 8th grade year; it continued into 9th grade. I made short-term goals along the way, and this made the self-hatred slowly dissipate. It made me push my limits and make new maxes every other week. The downside to pushing myself was that, in my haste to make it, I made a few mistakes resulting in a few small injuries. “If you keep pushing yourself so far past what your capable of, you’re going to hurt yourself.” “One day in the future you will regret putting your body through this much strain in such a short time.” This was a common of the advice I was offered. I didn’t care. All I wanted was to see my name up on the wall and have kids for years to come see my achievement. Finally, in the last week of 9th grade year, I did it. I had a 405lb deadlift and squat, and a 205lb bench. I had finally made it, and I felt incredible. I learned to never give up and to always push myself.
Personal Narrative Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific.
We did a brainstorm, and went through all ranges of emotions. This help me come up with the best narrative that i could make.
2. What qualifies this paper as a narrative? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? Dialogue, imagery, and show dont tell are all parts of the narrative genre. I used all of them, in my opinion, very well and the narrative itself turned out good.
3. What is one part of your story that you think turned out really well? What do you like about that part? The part where i went deep into the mindset of myself and all the struggles and hatred i had.