Scar Essay- Prewriting

So I'm taking an english class and thought it would be fun to put up what I'm working on for my first paper here. Feel free to comment and make suggestions for changes. This first one is just the prewriting part. It's basically just general information on the scar and what I think about it. Not the actual paper. In case you can't figure it out, we were supposed to choose a scar, either physical, mental or emotional, and write about it.

"The scar I chose is a small horizontal line on the bridge of my nose. It is the result of only three stitches on the outside of my nose, but represents a time when I shattered the entire bone that made up that bridge. When I look at my nose in the mirror you can barely tell that it’s not right. But when I run my finger over the scar I can feel the bump in the bone that didn’t used to be there and I can feel a slight indentation from the scar, slight but still feeling immense under the pad of my finger. I got this particular scar from smashing my face on the roll bar of a Jeep Wrangler. I was off roading with some friends. It was summer in St. George, UT and we had just been at the lake and were returning home when we noticed a steep, small trail in the canyon. There were two friends in the front seats and three of us in the back seat. This was the best trail we had found all day and I remember right before we hit that hole in the ground we were laughing and smiling and looking at each other in excitement. As soon as we did hit that hole I was airborne and ironically, slamming into the roll bar is what put me back into my seat. Of all the stupid, careless, and foolish choices I had been making in my life around this time, I had chosen not to wear a seatbelt. Back in my seat, too stunned yet to react, everyone else was cheering and laughing. They hadn’t even noticed yet that there was something wrong. I’ll actually never forget the look on my friends face when he turned around to enjoy the moment with us and instead saw me and all the blood.

I hate this scar. I have a few others that come with interesting stories and humorous antecdotes. But this scar is the one that is a constant reminder of all the bad decisions I’ve made in my life. This scar happened when I was a careless and foolish 19 year old girl who didn’t know what it meant to be an adult until I would ultimately be stunned, yet again, by the consequence of an even greater and more careless choice. This scar reminds me of everything I don’t want to be again. It reminds me that there are consequences for not making correct decisions and for not protecting yourself. I associate this scar with the look on my friends face when he noticed me that first time and interestingly enough, it is the same face I imagine that my family and friends had when they heard of my later indiscretion. This scar fills me with regret because what could have been an exciting summer day in my history, barely remembered through the haze of all the other memories, is now a vivid reminder of my stupidity then and later to come."