PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Personal Experience

Personal Experience

It was my first visit to Florida and I was finally going to catch a glimpse of the mighty Atlantic Ocean. As a child, I heard its glory described to me by friends that had gone on beach vacations. Deliberately placing yourself outside of your comfort zone will do one of two things; make you into a stronger better person, or cause you to shutdown and not accomplish the task at hand. While most high school juniors spend their year studying, excelling in sports, hanging out with friends, and thinking about colleges, I pushed my boundaries and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. To run and leap into the crashing waves seemed a reoccurring dream of mine. Strolling down the oceanfront boardwalk, I lifted my head high into the warm breeze, catching the salty water vapors in my nose and sighing with anticipation. The feeling of excitement never ran so intense, at least that is compared to the sudden jolt of dismay. I guess my enthusiasm was temporarily blinding, for I completely missed that guy on crutches...i was very excited and I was feeling myself in the skies. Thus the situation was not in my favor.

This was my first hardcore experience with that sly miscreant we call "irony." There I was all hyped up about playing in the ocean and surfing along with all that good stuff, when this huge guy on crutches comes out of nowhere and trips me. Of course, in accordance with the rules of irony, I was practically incapacitated after the violent tumble. I turned to my friends who were quite engaged in fits of laughter and I let out a scream fueled by anger coupled with nagging pain. Not only did I miss my chance to play in the waves, but I had to sit there and watch my tactlessly inconsiderate friends have the good time.

That particular experience coincides best with Webster's definition of irony as an "incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result." Although I find that definition too succinct, I will illustrate how my ocean situation relates. This was definitely one of the most exciting times of my life. The anticipation building up to that day was very intense and prolonged. Had I gone into the situation with lower or no expectations, it would not have been nearly as distressing. ...