Personal Narrative: Stressed Out By 21 Pilots
My childhood was a time of merriment and antics that made impressions that have lasted with me throughout my life. It was filled with carefree innocence and skewed perceptions of the more responsible world my parents lived in. As a child, my biggest worry was not getting that toy I absolutely desired when I saw it advertised on television. As time continued, the immortality of childhood began to fade; I began to grow older and gain responsibilities to my schoolwork and parents. As I began to grow up, the burden of increasing expectations of succeeding set by my parents, school, and community began to take a toll on me, and ultimately, stressed me out. Stressed Out by 21 Pilots accurately describes my wistfulness to “turn back time to the good
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old days” (21 Pilots 9). Travelers, Your Footprints by Antonio Machado reflects the way I dealt with the growing expectations. My parents had set high expectations for me. They wanted me to achieve merits that they only dreamt about. Pressured by them to do well on the SAT and school, I struggled in order to to meet their demands. As I laid on my bed studying for the SAT, I had a constant desire to “turn back time, to the good ol’ days” (21 Pilots 9). I wished for the time when I “could play pretend”, but instead, I was “stressed out” (21 Pilots 31-33). Imagining the days of my childhood, I relished in the memories of a time when I did not have to worry about what my future had in store for me. I can still recall my mother waking me up early on the weekends to get ready and seize the day by studying and working. It was as if she was saying “wake up, you need to make money” (21 Pilots 31). Although she didn't say that exactly, she implied it; if I didn't do well on these tests, I would not get into a great university and get a good job. I understood where she was getting at with her rant; I “[saw] the path she wanted me to travel in (Machado 7). Their expectations overlapped with that of the school. Involved in more clubs and organizations then fingers on my hand, my time was consumed by the demands of extracurriculars. With all the pressure from my parents, academics, and extracurriculars, I felt as if I was a dormant volcano getting ready to rumble and blow. Academics and extracurricular activities required my steadfast attention.
I was swarmed with homework from the multitude of AP classes I was taking. There were multiple days a week in which I would finish my homework as the sun was softly kissing the horizon of a new morning. All those sleep-deprived nights made me recall the days in which “momma sang [me] to sleep” (21 Pilots 10). I went from being tucked in by parents to being lulled to sleep by homework and studying. As I became dreary each night with the endless list of undertakings to complete, I could feel myself becoming more and more stressed out. The teachers, knowing me and my work ethic, expected me to accomplish the various assignments they threw my way. It was as if they thought there was “nothing else” going on in my life while it was quite the contrary; my life was consumed with the extenuating expectations of my parents, school, and community (Machado 2). In addition to the workload of school, I had the exasperating and terrifying task of applying to different colleges and universities. The endless essays and plentiful applications all contributed to my overwhelming flood of work. All these expectations pouring down on me abated my livelihood. I worked constantly to meet them. My parents expected me to do well on my academics and standardized tests so that I can get into an university with a great engineering program. When I told them the news of my denial from Georgia Tech, I could clearly see the
disappointment on their faces. Although I was expecting their disappointment towards my denial from such a highly prestiged engineering school, I was not expecting their response. They were supportive, and encouraged me on my odyssey at another university; they knew I could “make [my] own road” and that I would be successful no matter where I ended up going (Machado 5). With their reaction “all my fears [shrunk]” (21 Pilots 5). With my rejection from Georgia Tech, it became clear that I would be attending the University of Georgia. UGA is not known for its engineering program like Georgia Tech is, and whenever I told people of my plans to attend the University of Georgia to become an engineer, I received strange looks or remarks questioning my decision to attend the University of Georgia over Georgia Tech. With each remark, I often found myself thinking the same thing. In my decision to attend the University of Georgia, my “footprints are the road’ because of their unfamiliarity of Georgia’s College of Engineering (Machado 1). The concept of me attending the University of Georgia for engineering was foreign compared to my original plan of attending Georgia Tech. From the time of my acceptance to move-in day, I often pondered whether or not I made the right decision of attending the University of Georgia for engineering. With the thoughts of my future racing across my brain, I desired to “build a rocket ship and then... fly it far away”; I just wanted to escape to a place where “nothing really mattered” (21 Pilots 20, 29). It wasn’t until college started that I realized “[I] make [mine] own path as [I] walk” (Machado 4). It was up to me to make the best of my college experience and it was my responsibility to nurture and channel the education I got at the University of Georgia into my future career. In four years when I graduate, I will look back and “see the path that [I] will never travel again” (Machado 7-8) but have been so glad to take. With my graduation from the University of Georgia as an environmental engineer, I will see “only a ship’s wake on the sea”(Machado 10). Getting my degree from here, will open up many new jobs and opportunities for me. The engineering program, here at UGA, will take me to the heights that my parents envisioned for me. I will show the people who questioned my decision to attend the University of Georgia how successful I will become; it will be then that I will laughing at [their] face (21 Pilots 48).
old days” (21 Pilots 9). Travelers, Your Footprints by Antonio Machado reflects the way I dealt with the growing expectations. My parents had set high expectations for me. They wanted me to achieve merits that they only dreamt about. Pressured by them to do well on the SAT and school, I struggled in order to to meet their demands. As I laid on my bed studying for the SAT, I had a constant desire to “turn back time, to the good ol’ days” (21 Pilots 9). I wished for the time when I “could play pretend”, but instead, I was “stressed out” (21 Pilots 31-33). Imagining the days of my childhood, I relished in the memories of a time when I did not have to worry about what my future had in store for me. I can still recall my mother waking me up early on the weekends to get ready and seize the day by studying and working. It was as if she was saying “wake up, you need to make money” (21 Pilots 31). Although she didn't say that exactly, she implied it; if I didn't do well on these tests, I would not get into a great university and get a good job. I understood where she was getting at with her rant; I “[saw] the path she wanted me to travel in (Machado 7). Their expectations overlapped with that of the school. Involved in more clubs and organizations then fingers on my hand, my time was consumed by the demands of extracurriculars. With all the pressure from my parents, academics, and extracurriculars, I felt as if I was a dormant volcano getting ready to rumble and blow. Academics and extracurricular activities required my steadfast attention.
I was swarmed with homework from the multitude of AP classes I was taking. There were multiple days a week in which I would finish my homework as the sun was softly kissing the horizon of a new morning. All those sleep-deprived nights made me recall the days in which “momma sang [me] to sleep” (21 Pilots 10). I went from being tucked in by parents to being lulled to sleep by homework and studying. As I became dreary each night with the endless list of undertakings to complete, I could feel myself becoming more and more stressed out. The teachers, knowing me and my work ethic, expected me to accomplish the various assignments they threw my way. It was as if they thought there was “nothing else” going on in my life while it was quite the contrary; my life was consumed with the extenuating expectations of my parents, school, and community (Machado 2). In addition to the workload of school, I had the exasperating and terrifying task of applying to different colleges and universities. The endless essays and plentiful applications all contributed to my overwhelming flood of work. All these expectations pouring down on me abated my livelihood. I worked constantly to meet them. My parents expected me to do well on my academics and standardized tests so that I can get into an university with a great engineering program. When I told them the news of my denial from Georgia Tech, I could clearly see the
disappointment on their faces. Although I was expecting their disappointment towards my denial from such a highly prestiged engineering school, I was not expecting their response. They were supportive, and encouraged me on my odyssey at another university; they knew I could “make [my] own road” and that I would be successful no matter where I ended up going (Machado 5). With their reaction “all my fears [shrunk]” (21 Pilots 5). With my rejection from Georgia Tech, it became clear that I would be attending the University of Georgia. UGA is not known for its engineering program like Georgia Tech is, and whenever I told people of my plans to attend the University of Georgia to become an engineer, I received strange looks or remarks questioning my decision to attend the University of Georgia over Georgia Tech. With each remark, I often found myself thinking the same thing. In my decision to attend the University of Georgia, my “footprints are the road’ because of their unfamiliarity of Georgia’s College of Engineering (Machado 1). The concept of me attending the University of Georgia for engineering was foreign compared to my original plan of attending Georgia Tech. From the time of my acceptance to move-in day, I often pondered whether or not I made the right decision of attending the University of Georgia for engineering. With the thoughts of my future racing across my brain, I desired to “build a rocket ship and then... fly it far away”; I just wanted to escape to a place where “nothing really mattered” (21 Pilots 20, 29). It wasn’t until college started that I realized “[I] make [mine] own path as [I] walk” (Machado 4). It was up to me to make the best of my college experience and it was my responsibility to nurture and channel the education I got at the University of Georgia into my future career. In four years when I graduate, I will look back and “see the path that [I] will never travel again” (Machado 7-8) but have been so glad to take. With my graduation from the University of Georgia as an environmental engineer, I will see “only a ship’s wake on the sea”(Machado 10). Getting my degree from here, will open up many new jobs and opportunities for me. The engineering program, here at UGA, will take me to the heights that my parents envisioned for me. I will show the people who questioned my decision to attend the University of Georgia how successful I will become; it will be then that I will laughing at [their] face (21 Pilots 48).