PersonalNarrativeEssay

__ It’s All About Me, Claire Inda __ My life has been directed to a certain extent, by what happened in its first two years. I was born on June 23, 1995 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee. My parents, both lawyers who had married the year before, were somewhat old to be first-time parents – 37 and 38. My newborn picture shows me with red hair and blue eyes, kind of surprising to anyone meeting the blonde, green eyed me of today. I was baptized into the Catholic religion a month later in the sunroom of my parent’s home in Pewaukee, surrounded by my large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. They say it was a beautiful day, but I really don’t remember it. A year later, I had quite a first birthday party – or at least the pictures I have look like it. There were pony rides, balloons, a clown, and cake. There was also an appearance by Barney the Dinosaur, who, to my credit, I apparently received warmly as opposed to my cousin who was scared out of her wits. My life changed forever on February 12, 1997 when my father died in a horrible car accident. Because I was only 20 months old when he died, I don’t remember him. I have pictures and relatives stories about him but no recollection. My mother and I moved to Shorewood to be nearer to family and it was there in October that my brother Tommy was born. He too was born with red hair, but his has stayed that color. My first memory besides bits and pieces of life with my family are of Mrs. Mackie’s PK class. I began at USM in August of 1998. I remember that fall (I assume) painting a blob, trying to make it look like a pumpkin and failing miserably. In JK, I remember Emma Kulick teaching me how to tie my shoes and Hudson Bridge dropping a building block on my head. How times change! In SK, my mother took me to Disney World during November teacher conferences. We stayed on the grounds and had the best time with the rides and all. I especially loved the “character breakfast” and had my picture taken with Mickey. It was the first of many great vacations to come in my life so far. Sometimes I go places with my mother and brother, sometimes with my aunt and cousins and sometimes with my Dad’s family. Our family is very close. Beginning in January of 2002, I hit a rough patch. My grandmother died unexpectedly. She was a great person and I remember helping her make things. We made salads together (I stole all the oranges out of them all the time), polish sausage at Easter and homemade ice cream on long summer days up north. Five days after she died, I had an escalator accident during a first grade field trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum in which I lost my toenail. That was excruciatingly painful! To this day I still have some toenail care issues. A bad toenail can really be a pain. One of my best eight year old memories was my First Communion. I got to pick out the best dress and veil! It was like a miniature wedding dress. Since my mother is a Cantor, I got to help sing the Psalm during the Mass. We had a big party at a hotel afterwards and all my family and friends were there. My mother even had my Communion picture sprayed into the frosting on my cake! With Tommy and me going to school at USM and long car rides and no back yard becoming issues, we moved to a home in Fox Point in the summer of 2004. Now I have a very large yard and plenty of space for Tommy and his sports. I can get to school in five minutes now, something that is very handy when I (very often) forget something in my locker. I began Middle School in the fall of 2005 and something inexplicably happened. After I got my first set of grades I realized I was a fairly good student. None of my Lower School teachers had ever made me think that way. Or maybe I just did better work with a fast mix of subjects. When I began sixth grade History with Mr. Geilfuss, another weird thing happened. We started debating about King Tut and the Roman Empire and I came to the realization that I loved organized argument. From then on, my goal has been to become a lawyer. I would like to go to Marquette, like my mother did or Madison, like my father did. I’ve always enjoyed singing and acting and in the sixth grade had the opportunity to play Ninetta in “Nicholas Nickleby” and an orphan in the Upper School production of “Oliver.” What fun that was! I loved all the older kids and they were very nice to me and helped me with my hair. Most of them are in college now. Seventh grade was a great year for me – more singing, more plays. I met some new friends with common interests. For spring break, I got to spend Easter with my Great Uncle Romy and his family in Phoenix. Over summer break, two of my cousins, Kayla and Kenzie, stayed with us for three weeks. We spent time together in Door County and did a musical, Into the Woods, at IDEAS at USM. My life, so far, has had some deep valleys and high peaks. I enjoy my life and have high hopes for my future. I’ve heard that if you don’t cry on the mountain, you shouldn’t cry in the valley. I would like to keep that in mind as I embark on the future.