Have you ever been careless about something? Lots of people have a personality where they don’t have a care in the world. I envy people with that personality because they live their life freely, but that’s not me. However, in this particular situation, I didn’t care either. But was it the right time not to?

It was a warm, humid August day, the summer of fifth grade. The long wispy grass was covered in dew droplets. The color of the fresh green grass gleamed in the radiant glistening sun, reflecting like a mirror. My whole family was outside, intelligently taking advantage of the warm day. My mom was gardening; alongside her was my sister, and my dad was mowing the lawn. I turned around to see my brother. He surprisingly ran up to jump on me,which he intended to be a hug but turned out to be him tackling me.

He eagerly asked me to play with him in the backyard. I said sure with a sigh, as if I had been playing with him for thousands of hours. Feet trudging, legs moving, my brother dragged my arm to the playground. Moving and rushing, he started to climb the playground. Then as I was sitting on the swing I heard footsteps behind and redirected my eyes behind me, and there was nothing there, so I went back to sitting; he jumped on my back. He told me to run. I sprinted around the house like a cheetah. I saw my mom. She widened her eyes at me and said “be careful” in an apprehensive way. I rolled my eyes at her with aggression and continued to run.

Waving and smiling, my dad drove by with his lawn mower. Then, despite what my mom said, I listened to my brother, and he suggested that I run down the hill. Giggling and laughing, he was filled with joy and excitement as I ran down the hill. His face made me so incredibly happy, so when he yelled into my ear “again” I couldn’t resist and had to do what he wished.

As my brother jumped up and clinged to my back I started to run. When I was running I kept going faster and faster as I progressed down the hill. I could feel the air smashing against my face. I saw the grass dancing in the wind. I also saw a small puddle of water ahead, but I kept running. I slipped! I toppled over face first and did a forward roll down the hill with my brother still on my back. We stopped rolling, and my brother was balling. He wasn’t hurt, but his nose was just as red as an apple. I got up, but I could barely walk because my knee hurt so much that I could hardly keep my balance.

Luckily, the results from falling down the hill were not severe. My brother and I were okay. After my mom finished gardening, she walked slowly to us to give us a grin and say, “That’s why I told you to be careful.” My knee hurt for several weeks and was black and blue with dirt encrusted into where I skinned it. My mom just kept saying, “ you’re fine” or “suck it up.” That was not an effective way to stop my knee from hurting. But it was also my fault for not being careful, and that isn’t an effective way to live your life.

That still doesn’t make up for me being careless. During this experience, I inherited the knowledge that if I was careful or cautious at all, then I wouldn’t risk hurting myself or my brother. Don’t go against what your mom says because later, she will definitely yell at you for it. Overall, don't risk it if it might get you or someone else harmed just because you think it’s fun.

 

 

 

 

-Abigail N.