Personal Narrative Essay On Physical Therapy
Cameron Pipes
6/15/11
Personal Narrative College Essay
I was eight years old and I couldn’t even tie my shoes. I possessed no athletic talent. I was socially awkward because I was the kid that no one wants on their team. In the fall of 2002, my third grade P.E. teacher at my elementary school noticed my inability to do simple athletic tasks, such as jumping rope. At the same time, my parents noticed that it was beyond my physical capacity to tie my shoes or write well. So, I began attending physical therapy at Kidnetics, a place that specializes in physical therapy for young children. On the first day of therapy, I met Stephanie, my therapist. We started by playing a then popular game called Bop-It to test my hand-eye coordination. Needless to say, I was awful at the game. I was frustrated and began to hate Bop-It, especially after my parents bought one for me to practice. …show more content…
Each week, the physical therapy ended with my least favorite activity of all: shoe-tying lessons.
To this day, I don’t understand why I could not tie my shoes. For two years, Stephanie tried to teach me the conventional shoe lace “crossover” method and even the easier “bunny ears” method, but still I could not tie them. Sometimes we sat there for ten minutes, sometimes thirty, but Stephanie was always pushing me. Eventually, with enough practice at therapy, I learned to tie my shoes. When this new phenomenon in my life occurred, I was nearly ten years old. Most of my classmates had been tying their shoes for three years or more and I was just figuring it
out.
The ever daunting obstacle course was the most challenging and also most memorable part of my physical therapy. With its high swings, huge foam barriers, and spinning platform, the obstacle course was enough to make a lump in my uncoordinated throat. At the time, it was impossible to conceive that I could conquer such a terrifying obstacle course. However, as the weeks went by, the obstacle course became easier and I began to ask for harder tasks to complete. I no longer have any trouble tying my shoes. Looking back, I see that the most defining times of physical therapy were when I was trying to conquer the obstacle course. It was a representation of what I had to overcome as a child. It was the culmination of all of those times just standing awkwardly in the corner in gym class as the kid who could not jump rope. As unimportant as it seemed at the time, this obstacle course was the most important piece of my childhood. Finally mastering the obstacle course was representative of the change from being a gawky outsider who had few friends to a fairly normal kid. The physical therapy made me become more extroverted because I was surer of myself and my abilities. I became much more outgoing, which led to my participation in more activities throughout middle school and high school. The major turning point in my childhood, physical therapy was daunting and grueling, but at the same time, helped me to leave my unsure, introverted self and become who I am today.
6/15/11
Personal Narrative College Essay
I was eight years old and I couldn’t even tie my shoes. I possessed no athletic talent. I was socially awkward because I was the kid that no one wants on their team. In the fall of 2002, my third grade P.E. teacher at my elementary school noticed my inability to do simple athletic tasks, such as jumping rope. At the same time, my parents noticed that it was beyond my physical capacity to tie my shoes or write well. So, I began attending physical therapy at Kidnetics, a place that specializes in physical therapy for young children. On the first day of therapy, I met Stephanie, my therapist. We started by playing a then popular game called Bop-It to test my hand-eye coordination. Needless to say, I was awful at the game. I was frustrated and began to hate Bop-It, especially after my parents bought one for me to practice. …show more content…
Each week, the physical therapy ended with my least favorite activity of all: shoe-tying lessons.
To this day, I don’t understand why I could not tie my shoes. For two years, Stephanie tried to teach me the conventional shoe lace “crossover” method and even the easier “bunny ears” method, but still I could not tie them. Sometimes we sat there for ten minutes, sometimes thirty, but Stephanie was always pushing me. Eventually, with enough practice at therapy, I learned to tie my shoes. When this new phenomenon in my life occurred, I was nearly ten years old. Most of my classmates had been tying their shoes for three years or more and I was just figuring it
out.
The ever daunting obstacle course was the most challenging and also most memorable part of my physical therapy. With its high swings, huge foam barriers, and spinning platform, the obstacle course was enough to make a lump in my uncoordinated throat. At the time, it was impossible to conceive that I could conquer such a terrifying obstacle course. However, as the weeks went by, the obstacle course became easier and I began to ask for harder tasks to complete. I no longer have any trouble tying my shoes. Looking back, I see that the most defining times of physical therapy were when I was trying to conquer the obstacle course. It was a representation of what I had to overcome as a child. It was the culmination of all of those times just standing awkwardly in the corner in gym class as the kid who could not jump rope. As unimportant as it seemed at the time, this obstacle course was the most important piece of my childhood. Finally mastering the obstacle course was representative of the change from being a gawky outsider who had few friends to a fairly normal kid. The physical therapy made me become more extroverted because I was surer of myself and my abilities. I became much more outgoing, which led to my participation in more activities throughout middle school and high school. The major turning point in my childhood, physical therapy was daunting and grueling, but at the same time, helped me to leave my unsure, introverted self and become who I am today.