Have you ever done something that you only did because your friend did it? Most times that doesn’t end well. Maybe you got hurt or yelled at. Well for me, I got hurt. I was lucky, though, that I didn’t get as hurt as I could have.
It was a vivid and sunlit summer morning about five years ago. My brother, Thatcher, and my neighbor, Sadie, and I were playing in my front yard. Every morning I would have breakfast, and then we would rush outside and hang out for the rest of the day. We were playing kickball in the front yard. “I caught it! You’re out!” I proudly told my brother.
“Ahh, that was a good kick too. Okay, I’m getting bored of this. Do you guys want to ride on our scooters?” my brother questioned.
We both quickly agreed as we raced to the scooters. I snatched the hot pink one, Sadie took the light green one, and Thatcher took the bright red one.
We rode around for a long while until Thatcher suggested something.” I have the most amazing idea, we should ride down the hill!” he brightly exclaimed.
Right away Sadie said,” Yes!” I wasn’t so sure about it though; that’s a big hill, something bad could definitely happen, but I played along. Nothing would even happen. . . right? Barely any cars drive down our tiny road because only five families live on it. Part of the road, towards the end, has a pretty big hill. This was the hill Thatcher was talking about.
Sadie and Thatcher went first. They both laughed like hyenas as they started back up the hill. When they made it back they told me I should definitely do it. They told me about how fun it was and that it was not scary at all.
Like a statue, stiff as stone, I stood at the very top with my scooter for a few seconds. Eventually, I looked down at the hill. A sense of fear sent a chill as cold as someone pouring ice water down my back. From up where I was standing, it looked huge. But I was fine; I could do it. I knew it wasn’t actually that big. Or was it?
I got on my scooter. With one little push, I was off. There was no going back. Even though I went as fast as a rocket down that hill it still felt like an eternity until I hit the bottom of it. I had never gone that fast. I didn’t know how to stop, but when I did I flew forward and did a full-on summersault on the rock-hard pavement. I felt tears fall down my face. I felt blood pour out of my knee, my elbow, my shin, and my hip. I lay on the ground in fear and pain.
My neighbors quickly ran out of their house. Thatcher and Sadie sprinted to get my mom. When my mom got there she slowly lifted me up and brought me back to the house. It felt like there were hot needles all over my skin. When we got inside my mom looked me up and down, examining all my wounds. She got the band-aids and laid me down on the couch. I stayed there for a while, until I finally calmed down, until I could finally stand up and walk again.
I was lucky though that I didn’t break anything. I should have listened to my gut; I would never have even been in that situation. I realized you shouldn’t follow anybody else unless you really want to do it. Don’t think it’s okay just because your friend did it. And don’t do things just because of what others say and think. It's your choice; you choose. Not them.
-Josie M.
You gave us an amazing example of peer pressure, and its negative effects. When you said, ”Like a statue, stiff as a stone” We were able to clearly see your emotions at that time. I like how you used figurative language in your writing, such as, “sent a chill as cold as someone pouring ice water down my back.” From this story, I saw the message as being don’t give in to peer pressure, or always listen to your gut.
ReplyDeleteNever listen to peer pressure, listen to your gut. Safety is all that matters, not fitting in. Josie taught us this lesson by telling us, “I should have listened to my gut; I would never have even been in that situation. I realized you shouldn’t follow anybody else unless you really want to do it.” I felt like this really showed us just how much our gut’s feelings matter, in any situation not just the fear of being injured. This is exactly what Josie knew to do from the start, but wanting to do something everyone else is, makes you ignore everything else around you. I really like how Josie described her emotions to us the readers, for example before Josie rode down the hill she said, “Like a statue, stiff as stone.” This helped us picture just how scared she was before she went down the large hill. I really liked how she described it in this type of way, not just explaining how stiff she was and how scared she was. My reactions to this story were like a rollercoaster, I was worried, anxious, and felt bad for the outcome. I can apply this to my own life during the times I don’t want to do something, but I want to since everyone else is. I can realize my gut knows things I don’t. I can also relate to this since i’ve had many negative outcomes and experiences from ignoring my guts feelings, even I myself need to remember just how important your body is.
ReplyDeleteJosie, i really liked how you said, ‘’I should have listened to my gut.’’ because if a friend is doing it, something doesn't mean you should do it. Because your friends shouldn't pressure you into doing something or make you feel like you have to do what they are doing. This can be connected to my life because I had a friend that made me do everything that they were doing and one thing they did got me yelled at.
ReplyDeleteThis story gives a good message to get peer pressured. Sometimes at a young age when you’re with older kids it may seem like you have to act cool. You did a great job portraying this lesson. One quote in the story that helped portray peer pressure was “ Don’t think it’s okay just because your friend did it.” This story was fun to read and gave such good details.
ReplyDeleteDear Josie M,
ReplyDeleteYou had nice adjectives and text. It was a wonderful and brutal story. Not too long ago me and my brother were riding are bikes and we hit each other and I flipped him over thank god I did not seriously hurt him or even worse kill him. This was not to turst when it is an bad idea “ We rode around for a long while until Thatcher suggested something. I have the most amazing idea, we should ride down the hill!”
Sincerely,
Mishaun Leite