"Untitled" by Tatiana Y

 

My family and I have a very close relationship and for my brother's 11th birthday we decided we should take a family trip to Knotts Berry Farm. Now this trip was very last minute, but as a middle schooler any option to miss school was one I would not pass up. Plus my birthday follows very closely after my brothers, so getting to hang out with him and celebrate together made me pretty excited. Little did I know on March 2nd something I never expected to witness with my own eyes would happen to my very own brother.

 

Now for as long as I can remember my family and I have always loved cracking jokes, especially about each other. Over time we have had to develop some thick skin because once a joke is created it usually sticks with us for a long time. Now for me personally my all time favorite things to joke about is the one time my brother passed out on a roller coaster. Now if you have any younger siblings you may relate to me when I say that I do not pass up any chance to clown my little brother. That may sound mean to some of you, but believe me it's how I show I love him regardless if he likes it or not. Now close your eyes and imagine sitting next to my little brother who was 11 at the time, and couldn't wait to get on Ghost Rider at Knotts Berry Farm. With me being the great sister I am of course I was doing everything in my power to freak him out while we were getting ready to get on the roller coaster. Now that the big moment is finally here and we are taking our seats. (For reference, my brother and I were seated in the second cart from the front with my mom in the cart behind us.) To kill some time I decided while the Knotts Berry Farm worker was checking everyone's seatbelts I would try to talk to my brother and see how he was feeling. He wasn't saying very much and was in fact being very quiet ,which was not normal for him because all he does is talk and talk. I ignored his slightly strange behavior and sat back for the next couple of seconds while the ride got ready to start. Everything was completely normal while we were going up on the roller coaster, but that all changed when we reached the first drop and I heard my brother scream really loud. By the time I looked over he was passed out and my mom was screaming at me telling me to grab his head. Now I will not lie. I was concerned for about 5 seconds and then laughter took over my whole body when I finally realized that my brother really passed out next to me. My moms yelling only caused me to laugh more and more. Then just when I thought things couldn't get any funnier my brother wakes up mid ride and screams from the bottom of his lungs. Next thing I knew he had passed out again and had his head laying on me. By the end of the ride I had laughed so much I had a headache and couldn't catch my breath. As soon as I was able to get out of my seat I started laughing and walking towards my dad, because I could not wait to tell him about what just happened. Even though my brother tried to walk out after the ride and act as if he wasn't even scared I made sure he realized what had just happened. The rest of the day I was messing with him and asked him if he was too scared to get on some of the bigger rides. Especially since I couldn't have him passing out every time the roller coaster sent him into shock. As the day went on he was over all the jokes I was making.

Still till this day I enjoy picking on him about the time he passed out at knotts. He will always hate me for it because I will never let him live this down. Every once in a while I find myself feeling like these are the memories I live for. If it wasn’t for little things like this I don’t think that my family and I would be as close as we are. Which is why I think it is so important to spend time with the people you care about. Even if it’s just something small like calling to check on them. Which may be all it takes to create a great relationship or build on a relationship you already have. In the end everyone should take some time to value the amazing people in our lives and spend some quality time with them.