A Memorable Experience from Childhood - Narrative Essay Sample

Introduction

Birthdays are occasions for laughter and joy as people commemorate the day they were born. Most people celebrating their birthdays, especially at childhood, look forward to fun and frolic moments associated with any festivity. Laughter and happiness are the moments common in any birthday remembrance occasion. This event brings together friends, relatives, and close acquaintances despite differences in their traditions, rituals, and religious affiliations. On 11 September 1986, the entire family traveled to the outskirts of San Juan Island to celebrate Peter's ninth birthday. This occasion, however, broke from the norm where the parents could host late-night movies for close friends. In some instances, the family could hold a small in-house party where the attendants could share meals and celebrate together. On that day, everyone woke up very early and enthusiastically prepared for the long-awaited day. As a show of love, brothers and sisters painstakingly chose the right accessories and costume for their beloved lastborn, Peter. The party was held at Ozone Tropical Park on the outskirts of San Juan Island.

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On reaching the venue, the preparations for the party had started well in advance. The place was peaceful, calm, and complete silence. The only noise that anyone could hear were waves colliding off the cliff, chirping of birds, and howling of monkeys in a nearby bush. The venue was decorated with fresh, fragrant flowers that bored a festive air. The family arrived at the Ozone Tropical Park when visitors, including friends, relatives, and outstation guests, had settled. Security guards were also on alert. They could check everyone's invitation documents and national identity cards to ascertain who they were. In this way, the nature of security checks was an indication that nothing terrible could happen in the Ozone Tropical Park.

Both children and adults participated in various birthday party games, including treasure hunt game, three-legged race, button-button, and charades. The other games were elephant tug of war, and dress-up relay race, among others. The most entertaining event was the three-legged race, where pairs of individuals ran with their legs strapped together. In this event, the left leg of one participant is tied to the right leg of another runner. The objective is for a pair of runners to beat their competitors to the finish line. While the event seemed fun to the teenagers, it was hilarious for the adult participants. Another amusing event was the game of charades, where the attendants competed to match the game with the theme of the party. All the adults who lost in this game pledged a gift to Peter, who was celebrating the birthday.

All of a sudden, there was laughter everywhere when the kids engaged in a classic game of 'hot potato.' This activity involves the participants gathering in circles and tossing real potatoes or any other round object to one another as loud music plays. This event seemed amusing since it brought tons of laughs to everyone in the event. The most exciting part was the end of the game, where the winner would be allowed to dedicate a song to Peter.

Immediately the birthday games ended, all the attendants were served different kinds of snacks and refreshments. It was an enjoyable moment, especially for children who had never tasted veggie platters, mini pizzas, tortilla chips, and dips. Since it was self-service, the kids had an opportunity to choose snacks and refreshments of their choice. The other foods were baked potato chips, sugary lemonade, low-fat pretzels, and hummus with whole-grain pita. The kids were also excited because the party was an opportunity to take photos in a serene environment with the fragrant breeze flowing. To many children, Peter's birthday was a day full of adventure, excitement, joy, and expectations. The serine environment was also enjoyable to teens, considering that most of them were used to live in towns with rampant air pollution.

The climax of the occasion was the evening hours when all the children were issued with unique sky-blue shirts and addresses, and black trousers. All of them escorted Peter to a drawing-room that was tastefully decorated with flowers. The room was also decorated with colorful paper buntings and balloons. All of a sudden, laughter and thunderous applause engulfed the gathering as Peter entered the hall dressed in special clothes. Everyone welcomed him by clapping hands and handshakes. On the table was a birthday cake with nine candles fixed on it.

Another interesting part was when everyone stood and cheered Peter loudly as he cut the cake. Peter's close friends sang "happy birthday to you" as other children serve the guests' cake pieces. Adults could also take tea and soft drinks of their choice. Children, on the other hand, were given chocolates and toffees. As a return gift, Peter's parents and relatives gave every child a set of storybooks, among other stationery. When the event was over, close friends unpacked a lot of lovely gifts and pledges that the visitors had made. The family was surprised to find so many beautiful gifts, including bicycles, and many personalized gifts to the entire family.

Peter's birthday at Ozone Tropical Park is the most memorable event for every child who attended the party. Being the first outdoor party in a family of three children, everyone had an opportunity to witness an occasion celebrated in a grand style. There was much fun, jokes, laughter, and merry-making. Everyone bade good fortunes to Peter in the years to come, especially that it was the last birthday party before the family moved from Guatemala to the US. Peter's ninth-birthday remains a memorable experience for brothers, sisters, and parents.

A Personal Narrative that Reflects Ethics and Social Responsibility

Mariana started working with a well-known multinational company a few years ago. On paper, the business entity claimed to be one of the best employers in terms of protecting the welfare of its employees. The company had won several awards for being the leading organization in investing in the care for the employees. All was well the first few months Mariana reported to her new workplace. She was proud and lucky to be among the few candidates to join a reputable multinational enterprise. Although the workload was intense for Marina, she struggled to fit into the company's processes. Marian was interested to learn new skills and enhance her career.

One day, Marina reported to the workplace and greeted her manager and her colleagues as usual. Nonetheless, she was disappointed when some of the employees ignored her completely as she was reporting to her desk. Mariana could not believe it and kept wondering why some workers had treated her with cold and distant treatment. Mariana disclosed that she had never experienced such an awkward moment in ten years of her working life. While the situation seemed awful, Marina battled on and endured such a working atmosphere. A few weeks later, one of the workers disclosed to Marina that some employees were not happy with her because she did not accomplish group assignments during the weekend. As such, Mariana's colleagues had to handle the whole workload delegated to her team.

Upon realizing her fault, Marina emailed the manager requesting to meet her to discuss the issue. Initially, the manager did not rely on Marina's message in time and thus frustrating her. Eventually, the supervisor replied to Mariana's message, confirming that a meeting had been arranged with her. The manager, however, was shocked by realizing that some employees were in bad relations with Mariana. The manager also learned that Mariana's small mistakes in the workplace were almost turning everyone against her. Marina cried and apologized for realizing that it was a minor issue that was causing negative working relationships with her colleagues. However, the situation worsened when some employees made negative comments about Mariana's age besides engaging in other practices, which amounts to intimidation.

There were also reports that Mariana experienced sexual harassment, mockery, and ridicule in the firm. The management investigated the issue and noted that some behaviors had led to the creation of a hostile work environment. The managers concluded that such practices were tantamount to workplace bullying. Employees who were found guilty of harassment were dismissed from the organization while some faced corporate disciplinary actions. The culprits were remorseful and expressed their regrets, but corporate laws took its course. The managers praised the whistleblowers for disclosing immoral behaviors in the company.

Analysis of Values, Ethics and Social Responsibility

Ethics consists of a set of principles that guide people in making decisions on what is right and wrong (Spielthenner, 2005). It does so by establishing values, rules, and principles on which people base their conduct in society. Some of the values and concepts associated with ethical decision making are honesty, fairness, truth, and equity. Whereas ethics is of societal, concern, it is of great importance to leaders and professionals that serve the entire society. In this way, workplace ethics enhance the establishment of a positive ambiance that is necessary for promoting good working relationships among the employees, their supervisors, and the managers.

Immoral activities occurred in the organization because some employees did not employ the principles and values of ethical theories in making critical decisions in the workplace. The three main theories that lead people to make ethically correct resolutions are utilitarianism, rights, values, and deontology. Theories that fall under the utilitarianism class states that individuals should predict the consequences underlying their actions. There are two categories of this theory, rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism (Kaptein & Wempe, 2011). The former states that a person's actions and decisions should adhere to the applicable laws and ought to reflect fairness.

The rule utilitarianism theory is applicable in the personal narrative story. Workers who were found guilty of gross misconduct would have avoided the consequences if they had followed the principles of rule utilitarianism theory. Their actions, which include harassment, discrimination, and mockery, did not reflect the value of fairness. The theory also takes into account justice besides other values such as beneficence. The act utilitarianism theory, on the other hand, requires individuals to make sound decisions that benefit a significant proportion of people. Such individuals, however, should do so regardless of societal constraints, personal beliefs, and feelings. In the context of Mariana, whistleblowers represent individuals who adhered to the principles of act utilitarianism theory, which focuses on justice and fairness. Whistleblowers, in this regard, took into focus the idea that reporting workplace harassment would benefit many people in the organization.

Deontological theories state that in any place where ethics are in play, people should focus on adhering to their duties and obligations (McNaughton & Rawling, 2006). This idea implies that individuals ought to follow their obligations to other people and the entire society. The reason behind this concept is that upholding one's duty is what the society deems ethically correct and morally accepted. Individuals who adhere to the principles of deontological theories will always make ethically correct decisions, considering that it will be based on a person's set duties. In the context of Mariana, some people engaged in immoral practices because they did not f...