When i talk about the experience now, i have mixed emotions. on the one hand, i’m envious of how simple life was before the accident. but on the other, i’ve grown so much as a result of everything that happened that, in an odd way, i’m grateful.
the most likely reason this passage was included at the end of the narrative is because the narrator is

The most likely reason that this passage was included at the end of the narrative is because the narrator is reflecting

Explanation:

The narrator is reflecting how the accident he took although it was a sad thing, taught him a lot about life. He also reflects that even though sometimes he misses how his life was before the accident he feels grateful because everything that happened has made him a better person.

the sentence does not violate the phrase structure second rule (introduced by noam chomsky) because noun phrases consist of a determiner such as a, the or every, and a noun. in the sentence, the noun phrase the cake includes a determiner (the) and a noun (cake).

on the other hand, the first rule indicates that a sentence encloses a noun phrase, followed by a verb phrase. the example sentence can be analysed as follows:

john (n) + ate (v) + the (det) + cake (n).