When I was a ten-year-old boy, I was pretty typical. I loved being outside and there was never a moment when I would rest or stop moving. I was always on the go. One vacation I went on with family and friends was a fantastic time, but what came after the trip would change my entire lifestyle. After that trip, my knee kept having bad aches and pains, which in a ten-year-old kid is not a great sign. I had to stop playing sports for the time being, and I was put on bed rest until we could figure out what had happened to my knee. After lots of tests, needles, and doctors, it turned out to be something called PVNS. (Pigmented villonodular synovitis) PVNS is an overgrowth in the lining tissues of the knee, which can cause significant issues like torn tendons and ligaments. Thankful it was not cancerous, but for me at the time, I never thought I would be able to do the same things. So eventually, I had surgery, which was very painful for me but very necessary. I thought after that surgery that I would be able to go for sports and run around outside again, but little did I know that was just the start. After that first surgery came even more MRIs and doctor appointments to make sure it was gone. Those appointments did not go well for me. From me hoping it would be a one-and-done situation to eventually having two more surgeries, that really put me down. Not knowing when it will end was stressful and painful for me and my parents. It took many more years then my parents and I had hoped for, but in time, I was cleared and able to go back to my ways of always being on the move.

I think this story is a great representation of my writing throughout my years of school. When my years of writing began I was very capable and understood what I was expected to accomplish. This is like my time before having my knee injury. Running around outside playing sports which was what I loved and was great at. Then things changed as school progressed. Prompts got more confusing and readings were extremely hard for me to decipher. I was lost just like my time when I was not allowed to be running around everyday. I was in a metaphorical prison. To rehab my knee it took time and effort to get back to the form I was in before my surgeries. It was the exact same for me trying to regain my ability to write and understand texts at the level I did before my confusion started. Looking back on both of these journeys it shows me that I did not quit when things got difficult.