Narrative Essay: Personal Incident and Its Impact on Life

This narrative essay recounts a deeply personal and impactful incident in the author's life. The essay details the events surrounding the death of the author's grandfather and the subsequent revelation of their father's infidelity, which occurred when the author was just fifteen years old. The author describes the overwhelming grief, confusion, and sense of betrayal that followed, leading to a complete break with their father and a move with their sister to a new city. The essay explores the lasting emotional impact of this event, including the erosion of trust, the strengthening of the bond with the sister, and the author's journey toward resilience. The narrative emphasizes the profound ways in which a single incident can reshape a person's life, relationships, and outlook on the world, highlighting themes of loss, family dynamics, and the struggle to find meaning and strength in the face of adversity.

Running head: NARRATIVE ESSAY 1
NARRATIVE ESSAY
Name of the Student:
Name of the Instructor:
Course Name:
Date:

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NARRATIVE ESSAY
Life is a collection of various kinds of moments, be it happy, sad, scary, funny or
rewarding. In everyone’s life, there is a moment when you think that all was well however,
the reality was completely different. The most impactful event in a person’s life can be either
quite depressing, rewarding or maybe both. There are some experiences that change a
person’s life forever and those experiences are remembered for a lifetime. The aim of the
narrative essay is to discuss a personal incident that occurred in my life, which has a huge
impact and changed me completely.
Life has its own way of teaching and it will always give us something that we had
never expected. Life goes on after the incident however; its impact remains forever. It was
October 15, 1997, and I was only fifteen years old when my grandfather passed away. After
my mother’s death, he was the only person I was attached to closely. I felt that the entire sky
fell upon me at once and I was choked seeing him lying on his bed motionlessly. I could not
bear the scene and even though, I did not understand the intricate feeling of death, still, I
vividly remember each detail. My father rushed home after my sister called him to give him
the news however, a woman accompanied him. It was strange as well as awkward for us to
acknowledge the reality. My father went for a business trip two days ago and when my sister
called him, he came back within thirteen minutes. My sister told me to ask him about his
business trip. Even though I was not comfortable asking him, however, I did not want to
argue with her at the very moment. I went straight to my grandfather’s room where he was
lying peacefully as if he was happy to leave the cruel and harsh world that did not treat him
well. I asked my father about his trip and the woman with a straight face without any emotion
as if I knew the answer. He was confused and looked at the woman for support then he
pulled my hand and asked me to sit beside him. At the moment, my heart skips a beat because
I did not want him to say anything. I had lost my mother, my grandfather and now I did not
want to lose him. My mother committed suicide and people use to say that it was because my

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NARRATIVE ESSAY
father had an affair. I never believed people and nor had any prove because my father was
loving, responsible and fulfilled all our dreams. He was a man of his words and loved my
mother dearly. I blamed my mother for leaving us. However, at this very moment, I could
connect each piece of the puzzle of my life which was unsolved. He told me nothing at that
moment, just said ‘You need to be strong dear, this is not the time to talk about this’. At that
very instance, I lost my father and never looked back to him. After the funeral was over, my
sister and I moved to Philadelphia from New York and never came back. That was the
turning point of my life where the struggle started. We had to work hard and continue our
studies simultaneously, however, never asked for support from him. For me, my father did
not exist anymore even though later, my sister had contact with him. The incident changed
the way I perceive things, I could never trust people easily even though they are genuine. It
was the most influential phase that changed my life completely as well as my relationships. I
had lost everything, on the other hand, I found everything in my sister. She became my
guiding angel and took care of my every need. I never thought that she was so mature despite
the fact that she was only three years elder to me. Life went on in its own pace fading the hurt
however, I could never forget that day as it was the saddest day of my life.
From the narrative piece of my personal incident, it can be concluded everyone’s life
is different and each has their share of happiness and sadness at different phases. I consider
the incident to the most heartbreaking and distressing in nature and took a great toll in my
entire life. It broke my heart into a million pieces and I do not think, it is mendable.