Personal Narrative: My Entire High School Experience

One jumping jack, that is all it took to change my entire high school experience. I was in physical education class during the fall of my freshman year when it happened. I lifted my arms up, and when I lowered them I heard a pop, and felt extreme pain in my right shoulder. I went to the school nurse, and they told me that I had dislocated my shoulder. The nurses were not able to put it back in place, and I had to go to Boston Children’s Hospital. There, they struggled, but were eventually able to get my shoulder into its socket again. This happened repeatedly for the next few weeks, often several times a day. I spent a lot of time in and out of the emergency room and was diagnosed with MDI, or multidirectional instability. This would require …show more content…
After surgery, the opportunity to play again became a reality, but I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do. I had learned how to be happy without lacrosse, something I never thought I would be able to do. Being told I could go back with no guarantees was extremely hard. The doctors did not know if my shoulder could handle the amount of stress that I would put on it, or if I would be the same player I was previously. I decided to play again and ended up with recurrent muscle spasms requiring another hospital stay and nerve block. I was seriously questioning my choice to return to the sport I loved. After that, most people would give up the sport, and find something new to do, but I'm not like most people. I was determined to recover and play lacrosse at a competitive level again. As I started my second freshman year, school was challenging for me. I heard comments about how I had failed all my classes and had to repeat a year because of it. No one understood that I overworked my shoulder, and that it ended up costing me my freshman year. However, I learned how to put my head down and work hard and I made great new friends. I returned to the sport I loved and am going to be able to fulfill my dream of playing collegiate lacrosse. I learned how to push through pain and embarrassment, and because of it, I am a much stronger person than