Personal Narrative

Tehya King

Radford University
 I always thought that there was something wrong with me. I lost the love in art, the love

in playing with my dogs, and the love in my education. I forgot how to do anything that used to

fill me with joy. My parents didn’t understand it and neither did I. It went on for years like this;

wake up late, find decent smelling clothes, skip brushing my hair, go to school, complete my

work, binge eat, and then sleep for the next fourteen hours. I didn’t realize it then, but I was

depressed. It took such a long time for me to gain the energy to try and change myself. I set small

goals at first, lose weight, make a new friend, ask for help, etc., and soon set up larger goals, get

into college, work towards becoming a nurse, etc., to keep myself active and willing to look

towards my future. Losing weight proved to be my first overwhelming goal. I didn’t know

how to go about it and I had no one to talk for help. I researched the best way to diet, the best

exercise regime, and even went as far as dragging my dad out on runs with me, but I still didn’t

feel motivated. In the end, I decided on trying out for the girl’s lacrosse team and I made it! It

was tough at first, but I ended up completing many more goals with the help of my new found

friends and lost a total of sixty pounds. I created a healthy routine to take proper care of my body

and mind, but that wasn’t enough. Sadly, no matter how well I took care of myself, I could feel

my thoughts slip into a darker corner. My friends worried more and more about me every day

and I knew that I needed to change yet another part of me. That’s when I finally learned how to

ask for help. I was diagnosed with severe depression and got treated quickly. After five weeks of

test trials on different medications, I found one that worked the best for me. Along with the

medication, I also found an amazing psychiatrist to talk about and work through past traumas and

overall tough days. I was like a butterfly popping out of a cocoon, but I still couldn’t muster the

courage to really talk to my peers. My high school years soon whizzed by me and I was

becoming happier and happier. My grades were soaring, and I was making more friends than I
could’ve imagined. In a flash, the time to apply for colleges was at my door. I’m the first in my

family to attend college. I have no idea what I’m doing or if I’m doing it correctly. I was

freaking out, but luckily, I had become pretty close to my counselor and created an outline for

what I’d like my future college to have in terms of financial plans and courses available. I found

that Radford University partners with Carilion Hospitals and I knew this was going to be the

college for me. For the rest of the summer, I picked up an additional job as a waitress to

begin saving money. I woke up every day at six in the morning and didn’t arrive back at home

until twelve at night and sometimes even as late as four am. I slowly broke out of my shy spell

and began feeling comfortable talking to strangers out in public and overall sprouted into a very

optimistic person. I did, however, become a very frugal being and can merrily say that I managed

to scrounge up a few thousand dollars to be spent on college books, pens/pencils, microwave,

and other items that I perceived as necessary for my arrival at college. Since living on

campus, I’ve met many new people who actively support me and my goals of becoming a nurse.

I’ve learned a number of ways to tend to an injured civilian and tuned up my social skills! I have

a set exercise schedule and plenty of friends to cheer me up when I feel down. I never used to be

the outgoing, energetic, and talkative person. I was never able to raise my hand in class to ask a

question or even speak up enough to order my food. However, now my friends and family

describe me as bubbly, self-motivated, and chatty. It wasn’t an easy transition between my old

and current self, but a journey filled with twists and turns to meet my goals.