EED306/05 Narrative Essay: Friendship, Ego, and Lessons Learned

This narrative essay, written for an English Language for Teachers course, explores the themes of friendship, ego, and self-realization through a personal anecdote. The essay recounts a summer vacation experience where the student's friends seemingly reject them, leading to feelings of hurt and confusion. The narrative then shifts to a later realization of a friend's illness and death, prompting deep regret over the student's earlier behavior and lack of communication. The essay analyzes how the narrative is designed to heighten the reader's emotional senses and provides examples of descriptive writing that help convey the intended messages. The assignment adheres to narrative writing principles such as organized timelines, details, and effective language use. It emphasizes the importance of open communication, humility, and putting friendships above ego, ultimately conveying a powerful lesson about the value of true friendship and expressing oneself openly to loved ones. The essay concludes with a reflection on the importance of expressing oneself openly, especially to friends and loved ones, and keeping egos aside in friendships, which is effectively supported by the narrative.

Running head: NARRATIVE ESSAY
NARRATIVE ESSAY
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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NARRATIVE ESSAY
1. It was during one of my summer vacation visits at my grandmother’s house when I
learned the best lesson in life. I was in the eighth grade back then so I had the maturity to
demarcate between the good and the bad. I went along to my grandmother’s place with my
mother and little sister. I loved the place as it was surrounded by nature and away from all the
chaos of the city. The sun also seemed to be in love with the place as its rays rested on the
woods. I reached the place and immediately rushed to meet my friends there. The welcome I
received was not what I had expected from the people I consider my best friends. I shouted in
excitement while meeting them but the only reaction I received was a cold smile. I felt a little
upset because I thought they would be equally excited to see me. I did not bother to stay there for
long because I felt uninvited there and my friends too did not bother to ask me how I was or what
I was doing. I came home and went straight to my room and sat beside the window. It was
raining. The day was gloomy but I was feeling gloomier. Several thoughts popped up in my mind
as I took my thoughts back to my friends. Why would they not greet me happily? How did they
change so suddenly? Why would I care about them then? All these questions came into my mind
and I decided I would not approach them until any one of them comes to me and apologizes.
My stay at granny’s residence came to an end and it was one of the worst summer
vacations. Our schools started and I was elated to meet my school friends again and they
reciprocated the same feeling. I thought, “do hell with those villagers, I do not need them”. Days
went by but the thought did not leave me yet as I was still preoccupied with the memories of my
visit. In one of those days, I came home to receive one of the most shocking news of my life. I
saw my mother’s face and could not fathom why she looked at me like that. My sister then broke
the news to me that one of my friends from my granny’s place had died. I could not believe my
ears and I found it difficult to breath. Visuals of my friend flashed through my eyes and I felt a

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NARRATIVE ESSAY
sudden pinch in my heart. I was angry and disgusted at myself. I just wanted to see my friend,
apologize to him for not talking to him when I last visited.
I came to know that during my last visit, my friend was already ill and he had asked
everyone not to tell me because I would not be able to bear it. A sense of guilt and regret took
over me. I kept thinking, “I wish I asked them directly why they were behaving this way”, “I
wish I behaved like a true friend and confronted them directly”, “they could have told me
everything and I could have been with my friend during his difficult times”. I realized from the
incidence that it is important to express ourselves openly especially to our friends and close ones.
I also realized that when we consider someone as a friend, it is important that we show it by
putting our trust on them, which my friends did not do at that time. While I was overwhelmed by
my ego, they too did not attempt to show me the mirror. I could say that we should keep our egos
aside when we are with friends.
2. a) In the essay, I have written about the summer vacations and the visit to my
grandmother’s house, which the readers could relate to their own lives. Furthermore, I talked
about the happiness one feels when one meets her or his friends after a long time. Especially
during our teenage, we are high on friendships, setting goals, making promises and high on ego
as well. The essay that I wrote is a story about the friendship, the ego and the realization. All
these elements would hit at the emotional senses of the readers. Through the essay, I tried to
convey the message that ego is something that should be preserved for people who deserve it and
friends are not included in the list. The readers would also relate to the realization that I went
through after I lost my friend.
b) “I wish I behaved like a true friend and confronted them directly”,

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NARRATIVE ESSAY
I realized from the incidence that it is important to express ourselves openly especially to our
friends and close ones
I could say that we should keep our egos aside when we are with friends.
The above three sentences clearly explain the message I wanted to convey through my essay.
The first sentence conveys the message that we should act before it is too late. As the sentence
explains, I was too late in understanding my mistake. In the second sentence, I clearly mention
the importance expressing ourselves openly. The readers get the direct message that they should
not hesitate from expressing themselves to their friends. The third sentence further gives the
message of being modest and humble to our friends keeping aside our egos. The readers would
have the message that it is important to leave out the ego part while being with friends. The
message has been made effective with the story that I narrated.
Therefore, the assignment included a narrative essay on the importance of being
expressive and limiting egotistic behavior when with friends. After the narrative essay, I
explained the way it would heighten the emotional senses of the readers. The narrative essay had
elements of separation and grief that touched the emotions of the readers. I also provided
examples from the essay to explain the way it assisted me in conveying my message effectively
to the readers. I included three sentences from the narrative essay to show that it helped me
convey my message effectively to the reader.

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NARRATIVE ESSAY
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Olson, C. B., Scarcella, R., & Matuchniak, T. (2015). English learners, writing, and the Common
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