Chanda R.

 October 8, 2010

 English 10 - Period 4

 Autobiographical Narrative

 Final Draft

Your My Valentine

               Some relationships can be both weak and strong. This one was definitely strong. Joseph and I were dating about three months before our date for Valentine`s Day. Seeing him standing at the door smiling, with his hands behind his back, made me nervous. There it was, a single red rose in his hand. Our two hearts turned into one,  and his blushing smile made me tingle inside with the warmth I felt when we first kissed. It was so sweet, I was moved to tears. I turned around, acting as if I were laughing. Walking to the van I felt chills when he grabbed my hand.^[a] Not knowing how much I liked him scared me.

                On our way to Seaport Village, Joseph sat in the back seat and I sat in the front. Trying not to talk too much, I sat quietly; being the shy one. As I was watching the cars pass by and occasionally glancing at him in the rear view mirror, I knew I was a lucky girl. There were others on a date riding with us: Lebari with Candy, Jose with Catalina, and the driver.^[b] I wondered how Joseph was feeling about this. Was he nervous like I was. The driver pulled off the freeway, and I saw Seaport Village^[c] in front of us, I could hear my heart beat over the loud music blasting inside the van.

                While the driver looked for a parking spot, I thought about how I should act, and what I should say^[d]. We crossed  the street and stood in line for tickets to take the Bonney Belle across the bay. Joseph and I walked hand in hand and stood by the railing with other older couples. I felt older and much more mature. He had his arm around me while we leaned against the rail. I felt safe a^[e]nd I wanted this moment to last forever.

We took the stairs to the upper deck and sat down in a corner. The other couples  around us, smiling and kissing, made me happy. There were Asian teens next to us, and they barely spoke English. Just like Joseph, he smiled ^[f]and nudged me in the arm, saying  that I belonged with them, “my family”.^[g] He has such a great sense of humor. The people tried to take pictures and the American flag at the back of the boat hit them in the face, each time they clicked the shutter. Joseph started to crack up like no tomorrow, ^[h]and he had me giggling like a little kid again.

                We arrived at the dock on the other side of the bay. Our date had just begun! Looking for a place to eat was difficult because there were so many places to choose from and I was worried about Joseph spending too much money. Joseph didn`t care which restaurant I picked because he said, “This day is all about you, it`s Valentine`s day”, So we decided on pizza, Isn`t that funny? when we could have had something more exotic^[i]. Well, I thought it was pretty amazing. We bought pepperoni pizza, plates, knives and a fistful of napkins because the pizza was slippery and difficult to eat.^[j] Joseph threw a large piece of pizza which kept sliding around as I tried to cut it. He took the knife and fork in his hands and showed me how to cut it. I felt a little silly.  

After we finished dinner we left the restaurant and I felt bloated. We walked hand in hand through the different stores. The cupcakes looked fantastic but after eating pizza, I was still full. Joseph asked me if I wanted ice cream. “Ha ha, no thank you,” I said. So he bought ice cream and kept telling me to get something. Giving in, I decided on some dipped chocolate strawberries. We sat on a bench and talked. Feeling exhausted, we went into a Mexican restaurant, and bought a Red Bull for me and Joseph bought a Monster Energy drink. I didn`t know the Red Bull only works for an hour. It gave me energy at first but after an hour I felt exhausted and ready for bed. Two <sup>[k]</sup>hours later we felt hyper. We couldn’t handle the energy drink. Walking on we came to a wonderful little store full of chocolate. We couldn`t resist so we filled up three bags with chocolate and the owners gave us even more chocolate. As the night ended I fell asleep in his arms.^[l]

                At first I thought, Wow! This is AMAZING! Afterward I thought that it was the best day in my life at San Pasqual Academy. Later^[m] I realized that I can find someone like him again if I want to. All I have to do is stay true to myself, be myself and so can you.^[n] Find someone who respects you, cares, loves you, stays honest, supports you, understands you, and who is willing to stand next to you when you feel like you are too little for people to even notice you.^[o][p]