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Narrative Essay
Mackenzie Mitchell
English II: Period 1

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First Grade
I have always been one of those girls who hates bugs, spiders, and everything of the
nature. At recess one day I was watching an army of ants march around me, and I naturally
stepped on all of them. A few girls told me to stop but I continued on, so they decided that they
should tell on me, not because theyd cared about insects and nature, but because theyd wanted
to get me in trouble.
Mackenzie is killing ants! they told the teacher.
The teacher informed my mom and the girls snickered. My mom realized they were just
trying to get me in trouble.
Well, my mom said, I kill them at home so shes just doing what Ive taught her.
The girls sat in disappointment while I continued with my ant-killing crusade.
Second Grade
I was told early on by my parents that Santa Claus was fictional. I guess theyd wanted
me to know that Santa was not the most important aspect of Christmas, and that they were the
ones from whom I received presents, making me more grateful. Then of course, being a know-itall who loves to argue, I had to tell the kids in my class.
In the library one day, a few kids were talking about Santa Claus and I told them he
wasnt real. We argued about it in a second grade manner:
Hes real!
Nuh-uh!
Yeah-huh!
Nuh-uh!

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This may seem cruel and while Ill admit that in a sense it is, my intentions were not to
crush anyones dreams: I just enjoyed knowing something that others didnt and enjoyed
showing them that even more.
The teacher, a fan of Santa Claus herself, was upset by my breaking of seven year olds
hearts and called my parents who had to explain to me that I couldnt tell other kids that Santa
wasnt real. Their parents would tell them when they saw fit.
I still know more than them, I thought.
Third Grade
At recess I always sat with my friends at the outside lunch tables that were near the
blacktop where the fifth graders played kickball. Their ball wandered over to us during their
game one day. Similar to an animal in the moment it spots its prey, I snatched the ball and ran
away.
Hey! Give it back! they shouted before chasing after me.
I dont know what I was thinking, but I was definitely being bold and adventurous.
However, boldness, and energy, can only last so long, and I threw it back to the fifth graders
eventually.
They then threw it at my behind.
Fourth Grade
In fourth grade we had to learn every U.S. state capital, abbreviation, and location, and
were tested on them. I studied very hard and knew each about every state. I should have gotten a
100% on the test, but I didnt. The reason for that is because I spelt Phoenix, the name of the
capital of Arizona, incorrectly. That was the only reason I didnt get a 100% on that test;
everything else was correct.

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In my opinion, a fourth grader knowing all of this is pretty impressive, but apparently my
teacher didnt think so.
Im still angry, but I still cant spell Phoenix without the spell check on this writing
program.
Fifth Grade
Every year there was a talent show for fourth and fifth graders at our elementary school.
In my second year performing in it (my first is a painful story that can be told at another time),
my friends and I decided to dance to Michael Jacksons Beat It.
We created an awesome routine that we practiced at least a hundred times during recess
and outside of school. We planned matching outfits and then went shopping together to purchase
them: a white button down shirt, a black tie, black jeans, a black fedora, and a red glove.
When the talent show came around, we couldnt have been more excited, and I couldnt
have been more nervous. We walked up the stairs that led to the back of the stage and marched
out after the gongs in the song sounded. The bright lights were blinding and made me feel like I
was baking in an oven, but our performance was great. My favorite part was at the beginning
when we threw our hats into the audience. The crowd cheered for us and the entire experience
made for one of my favorite memories.
Sixth Grade
In the beginning of every school year, teachers usually tell their students a little about
themselves: where theyre from, their previous teaching jobs, how many kids they have, what
theyre ex-husband is like, etc. Actually, that last one might only have been my sixth grade
English teacher
She told us she was divorced, then moved on to tell us the details.

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My ex-husband is a nice guy, really. But I love to have fun and hes about as interesting
as this stool! she explained as she pointed to the stool that she liked to sit on during class. Of
course we all laughed. For the rest of the year, anytime she talked about her ex-husband, she
referred to him as the stool.
She also kept us updated on her love life, telling us about her new boyfriend. She told us
about how theyd had a mutual friend and then she described their Facebook conversations.
Boys, take notes! she said. This is how you get a girl!
One boy actually grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down everything she said.
Seventh Grade
When most people think about being assigned books in school, they imagine having to
read extremely dull, boring books. This was not the case this year. In English I was introduced to
quite a few books that I absolutely loved.
First we read Wanted! by Caroline B. Cooney, a book about a girl whose father is killed
right before she becomes the suspect. If every book this year is this good, I thought, then Im
going to like this school year.
We then read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, which is still one of my favorite novels. It
follows Ponyboy Curtis, who lives with his two brothers. The three of them belong to a group of
poor friends known as greasers. When Ponyboy and his friend Johnny are attacked by their rivals
the Socs, or rich kids, Johnny kills one of them to save Ponyboy and the story follows their
adventure. We watched the movie in class upon finishing the book, and it is also one of my
favorite movies.
Next we read Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, one of the most heartfelt and
saddest stories Ive ever read. The story follows the adventures of two characters: Max and

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Kevin. Max is a very large teenage boy, who is an outcast and is made fun of for his size. Kevin
is tiny and walks with crutches, but he shall not be underestimated; he is extremely intelligent.
The two may not seem to have much in common, but when Kevins brains are joined with Maxs
size, they become Freak the Mighty and take on the world together. In class we also watched the
movie The Mighty, which was almost as intriguing as the novel.
Lastly we read The Pigman and Me by Paul Zindel. This novel was about the author in
his teenage years, when he lived with his sister and mother, and his mothers friend and her
children. He meets the friends father, Nonno Frankie, who becomes Pauls Pigman, or role
model. Because some of the main characters were Italian and have a big feast in the story, our
class had an Italian feast. We all brought in some Italian food and had a great time.
Eighth Grade
For a time, I wore a Boston Bruins shirt in gym class. Because of this, my teacher
assumed I was a huge fan. Every class, he would bring up their last game.
How about your boys last night? he would say. Sometimes I hadnt even watched the
game but I would just say things like, I know!
For the rest of the year, anytime my teacher saw me when I wasnt wearing the shirt, he
would say, Hey, wheres your shirt?
This includes a time I saw him at a store.
Ninth Grade
My Portuguese teacher would often be running late to class, and on certain days some of
us would be early because wed be coming from lunch.
One day, before my teacher had arrived, I was there with about five other kids. Someone
found a piece of melted chocolate (where it came from is still a mystery to me) and decided it

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would be fun to throw it up at the ceiling fan. I protested, mostly so I would not be a part of the
blame, but did think it would be pretty funny. I stepped out of the room to make sure the teacher
was not coming, and during the three seconds that I was not looking, he threw the chocolate into
the air. It hit the ceiling fan, then flung across the room and stuck to a wall. Everyone there
laughed and when I came back into the room, we all gaped at the brown spot on the wall.
The chocolate remained in its spot for the rest of the year, with dust collecting on it.
Every time I noticed it I would giggle and remind my friends of it.
During the last week of school, we finally told our teacher about the chocolate and she
just laughed and shook her head.