Listening to directions is easy except when one of the
directions is, “Listen to directions!” 2004 was the year that I learned the
most important lesson of my entire life. I was 5 when my family decided to
spend a few weeks of December in Utah. During that month, we spent a lot of
time sledding. I would wake my parents up early in the morning around 8 a.m.
and jump up and down on their bed to ask them with the most enthusiasm within
me, “Can we go sledding right now?!” Each time we went out to go sledding it
was amazing. Sledding was the most exciting thing ever invented. I would get an
adrenaline rush each time I saw which hill we would settle on for that day. I
would get goose bumps because I thought I was such a daredevil as I slid down
the soft, smooth snow. Sledding just got better and better every time that we
went.
However the very last time that we went sledding that
December was the last time I ever chose to sled again. That day all started
with getting ready in our rooms with my sister. My sister and I are only 2
years apart and it is extremely easy for us to get into silly arguments. Well
while we were getting ready we were watching TV and on that early morning they
were showing SpongeBob and Tarzan. I so desperately wanted to watch SpongeBob
but my older sister took the remote away from me and put it on the top of a
cabinet where she knew I would not be able to reach it. My sister won the
argument which destroyed my mood. You know when you are 5 and get into an
argument with your siblings then you lose which makes you think you really have
nothing else to live for? That was me.
We got to the top of the mountain and I realized that I
didn’t want to be anywhere near my sister. I wanted at all times to be no less
than 10 feet away from her. I didn’t even want to share the same air. If I saw
her once even from my peripheral view, I was going to throw hands. It was my
turn to go on the sled and my mom gently pushed me down where my sister was
supposed to catch me. She told me, “Let your sister catch you!” And behind her
my dad added, “I know you are mad at your sister but LISTEN TO DIRECTIONS!” So
there I was sledding right down the hill where at the end I would be caught by
my sister whom I previously vowed to never be near for the rest of my life. I
couldn't have that so I took the handles of the sled and I turned it far off to
the right where there was a slight bump in the
snow. That slight bump was enough to get me off course and down another hill
that entered the parking lot. I slid down that hill and down under a pickup
truck. Thanks to my instincts I laid my head down before I hit the truck’s
bumper. I remember lying under the truck laughing because I thought I was
successful at keeping a good distance from my sister. I lay under the truck
soaking in all the glory of my successful task until my family got me out from
under the truck.
When my mom and dad ran to get me out from under there, I
realized that I was very wrong. My parents were so afraid and my mom was
crying. Seeing my mom cry made me cry because I knew I could have avoided it if
only I had listened to her. The lesson I learned was the simplest and most
basic lesson to ever learn - Listen to directions. I learned it the hard way.
Sliding under the truck wasn’t when the message hit me; it was when my parents
were all shook up. If only I had listened to what they were saying instead of
holding grudges, I wouldn’t have caused them any stress.
12 comments:
This is a great story! The detail from this experience was great, it made for a really well written story. Thank your for sharing such a personal learning experience. Even know I find myself not following directions, and after reading this, I'll have to take that into consideration.
Wow awesome story! It has a serious yet comedic feel to it and I found myself very interested when reading this. I think those of us with siblings can all relate to those moments where they are pretty much dead to us so I found it very easy to relate to! Really great story and thank you for sharing this with us.
This story leaves me baffled! I can't imagine how your parents felt as they saw you sliding down and almost crashing into the truck. How you ducked before you could hit the truck goes to show your wisdom and swift reflexes. Just like you were as a child, I was (and still am) stubborn to listen to directions. I love how you incorporated a valuable life lesson into your story; it leads me to reflect that I should be less stubborn.
I thought your story incorporated a good amount of humor, yet you were still able to leave the reader with a little life lesson to take away from it all. I think that your piece is relatable, as I'm sure many people have at one point been stubborn and attempted to avoid their sibling. I know I would always get into arguments with my sister, and your story sparked a memory in my mind that led me to reflect on how I acted as a child, and the negative consequences that followed. Awesome job at telling a important life lesson through a funny story!
I liked how personal, yet relatable the story was. I have a younger sibling so I know how bad arguments can get. The story itself is pretty incredible, sledding under a truck is impressive! Luckily no one was hurt. The story was fun, creative, and showed a lesson you learned from your own experience, which helps the reader reflect on themselves as well. Very enjoyable to read, great job!
This story is so easy for me to relate to and in different ways. Like you I have gone sledding in Utah many times with my family during the winter and I always fight with my sister who is three years older and my brother who is three years younger. You made me realize though that our arguments should not reflect how we treat other especially our parents. Thanks for writing this story, it was light hearted yet gave me a lesson.
All of us who have had siblings, older or younger, have probably felt this way at many points throughout our family lives, so your choice, though stupid it may have been, is very relatable. Good work at phrasing it in such a way that makes us both sympathize with you and acknowledge that you made a dumb choice.
this story is so relatable when you have two sisters 5 years older and 5 years younger than you. I fight with my little sister on a daily. It's ridiculous when I think about it but in the moment I get sooo heated. I like how you provided specifics like watching Tarzan or SpongeBob. I can imagine the events as they happen. Sometimes the only way we learn is in tough times.
I enjoyed reading your light-hearted and informative piece. You did a great job using imagery and detail to describe the winter season and your lesson learning experience. This was overall fun to read and it gave me a good laugh. Awesome job Emily!
This was a truly enjoyable piece. Everyone can relate to this since we were immature brats at one point in our lives. This piece truly captures our immaturity and carelessness as little kids. - Jerico Dizon
I can relate to this story perfectly with having 3 sisters and all. I loved it, it was very detailed I pictured the whole thing in my head and I loved that you were smiling while going under the truck because that's definitely something I would do. I can relate to this story perfectly not the whole sledding part bet something like it. Thank you for bring me back to my childhood for a little while with all your imagery. Good job!
This story is completely relatable, there's been too many times when I haven't followed directions and have paid the price for it, thankfully nothing too bad has happened. It's great to know that you didn't get hurt, good job!
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