Personal Narrative: Saint's Row

The purple sports car swerved briskly on the gray asphalt, nearly colliding into the unsuspecting mini van in the adjacent lane. “Will you stay in the lane?” I shouted in warning as the sound of my cousin’s easygoing laughter filtered the air-conditioned room. Looking away from my father’s unclouded computer screen, I gazed at my cousin’s right hand readied at the keyboard as her left hand dipped lazily into a crumpled bag of salty chips. Despite admonishing her, I could not help but be carried away by her infectious laughter and swiftly joined in. This was the very embodiment of my summer--leisurely days filled with heavily processed junk food along with the continued playthrough of our favorite video game: Saint’s Row.

Saint’s Row is a video game characterized by its crude humor, gun violence between rivaling gangs, and fast paced car chases. Although Saint’s Row is usually a single-player game, my cousin
Growing up, I have always placed an immense pressure upon myself. I saw how much my parents had sacrificed for me so that I could attend my Catholic private school. Perhaps their motives were to teach me the morals of Christian religion or to help a shy girl like me feel comfortable in a smaller school community. However, I saw an extensive motive behind their choice. They gave me a good education in the hopes that I could attend a good college, get a good job, and secure a good future. Most of my years in high school were spent with this singular goal in mind. I studied persistently out of fear that any mistakes would forfeit the chance at the opportunities I thought my parents wanted for me. In my world, things like compromise or teamwork did not exist. I felt that complete adherence to my plans was the only way to attain success. I avoided seeking out help because I felt it was solely my responsibility to fulfill my goals. I became a narrow-minded machine that only searched for