Sample Narrative Essay: My Journey of Improving Self-Perception
A narrative essay is one of the subtypes of an expository essay . Its purpose is to narrate a story in a clear, organized, and insightful way. While a narrative essay is often written from a first-person perspective, it still needs to be structured as an essay with three parts and employ a suitable language level. This sample work narrates the writer’s journey toward improving self-perception.
The way a person perceives himself is important. How a person sees himself, whether positively, negatively, or a mix of both, influences the way they think, act, and interact with other people. Like many students, I am still very much in the process of getting to know myself. I am discovering who I am as a person, the things I like and dislike, the things I care about, my strengths and weaknesses, and the way I deal with different situations. While I believe that I have a fairly accurate self-perception, I find myself wondering if there are ways to further improve the way I see myself. This led me to embark on a journey of improving my self-perception. Fueled by my desire for self-betterment, I surrounded myself with loving and supportive people, mustered the courage to do the things I have always wanted to do, and learned to take better care of my health.
My main motivation for taking this journey is self-betterment. Like most of my peers, I have my worries and insecurities. I sometimes hesitate to accept bigger responsibilities and challenges, for fear that I may not be able to perform or overcome them. But I figured that I could either resign to my worries and insecurities or at least try to do something about them. Moreover, I eventually learned that my insecurities are not unique; instead, they are quite common due to societal pressures. My generation grew up constantly bombarded by unrealistic standards of success and beauty. For instance, advertisements pressure people into looking a certain way. Even simply staying for too long on social media can affect our self-esteem by making us think everyone else is leading happier and more productive lives (Chae, 2018; Berezan et al., 2018). It is not surprising that so many young people develop negative self-perception. Recognizing that I can do something about it, I decided to actively take steps to improve my self-perception.
The first thing I did in this journey was to surround myself with people who respect and love me as well as encourage me to become a better person. After reading some online sources discussing relationships, I learned that the quality of relationships has a big influence on self-perception. Abusive relationships contribute to the development of negative self-perception. By contrast, relationships characterized by mutual affection, respect, and support help people build positive self-perception (Narr et al., 2017). Having understood this, I fostered deeper relationships with friends and family members who have always been there for me. I also started to form friendships with people whose presence makes me feel more alive and enriched. I can honestly say that this made a great difference. Now, I am surrounded by people who support me, celebrate my small successes, and provide me with constructive criticism whenever I need it.
Another step I took to improve my self-perception is finally deciding to do the things I have always wanted to do and taking pride in them. I am sometimes prone to overthinking things. I am also conscious of what other people might say about what I do. For instance, there were times when I decided against taking up a pastime or hobby because I was afraid that I would not improve. I was also worried people would say that I was not good enough unless I earned money from what I do or got recognized by experts. But I soon realized that not everything I do has to be done perfectly, that it is alright if I do something simply because it gives me joy and a sense of fulfillment, and that I should not give in to the pressure of turning a passion into something that earns money or receives rewards. I decided to take up painting. I bought some art supplies and asked an artist friend for some assistance. She was more than happy to give me some basic lessons. She was also very supportive, telling me that fulfillment comes from the act of using my imagination to create a work of art. I also decided to learn cooking. I bought a cookbook I found in a yard sale. Now I spend my weekends either painting or cooking, and this has made me appreciate myself more.
Finally, I also learned to take better care of my health. I have often read that people who follow healthy lifestyles have more positive self-perceptions than those who do not (Basoviciene et al., 2019). I started to eat a more balanced and nutritious diet. Using the cookbook, I made healthy dishes from fresh ingredients. I also made sure that I go for more nutritious choices whenever I dined out. I also started jogging at least a few times a week. Finally, I am now trying to avoid thinking and worrying so much to better take care of my mental health . These steps have made my life better. I now feel that I have developed better discipline and I feel good knowing that I am doing my overall health a favor. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
My journey toward improving my self-perception has not been an easy one. In all honesty, it takes courage, commitment, and support from other people. In my case, it was the desire to become a better person that made me go on this journey, and I am deeply grateful to the people who helped me along the way. Surrounding myself with the right people, finding new things to do, and taking care of my health has helped me see myself in a more positive light. But I understand that this is an ongoing process, so I plan to continue what I do and seek new ways to further promote my overall health.
A narrative essay is just one of the many types of expository writing. Others include the problem and solution, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and descriptive essays. There may be times when you need to submit one or more of these. If you are too busy to do all these, do not worry because coursework help is available from CustomEssayMeister.
References
Baceviciene, M., Jankauskiene, R., and Emeljanovas, A. (2019). Self-perception of physical activity and fitness is related to lower psychosomatic health symptoms in adolescents with unhealthy lifestyles. BMC Public Health, 980. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7311-2
Berezan, O., Krishen, A. S., Agarwal, S., and Kachroo, P. (2018). The pursuit of virtual happiness: Exploring the social media experience across generations. Journal of Business Research, 89, 455-461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.11.038
Chae, J. (2018). Reexamining the relationship between social media and happiness: The effects of various social media platforms on reconceptualized happiness. Telematics and Informatics, 35(6), 1656-1664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.04.011
Narr, R. K., Allen, J. P., Tan, J. S., and Loeb, E. L. (2017). Close friendship strength and broader peer group desirability as differential predictors of adult mental health. Child Development , 90(1), 298-313. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12905