My favorite mistake
Charlie Plummer
College Composition and Research
My Favorite Mistake
December 13, 2016
When "No" Means "No"
“Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, please can we?” I thought she would never say yes to riding the four wheeler. I knew at the time my mom was not in favor of me riding the four wheeler alone, however, on this particular occasion I was offering to ride with my big brother, Luke. “No Charlie, I do not have the time to watch you both,” my mother replied. As a fearless five-year-old, individual, I took that as a challenge that I was willing to accept. Eventually, through much persuasion, she gave in and reluctantly said yes. I never would have guessed that decision was going to be the decision that would lead me to learn a hard lesson. Shortly after receiving the the answer I had pleaded for, which was to ride with my older brother, I instantly disregarded my mother’s orders. I thought I could handle this “big girl” responsibility alone and unavoidably wrecked the four-wheeler instantly. Much to my mom’s dismay, I had defied her orders and finally understood the importance of her rules. My mother’s rules were not set in place to be unfair, but solely to protect me from the danger I was unable to recognize.
I remember the exact details that occurred on that particular day. The beautiful sun seeping in my windows and the heat of the sun, which gently rested on my face as I began to wake up. As I climbed out of bed and proceeded down the hallway reaching the top of the stairs, I was greeted by the sweet aroma of breakfast. As I traveled down the stairs and outside to eat breakfast, I immediately was embraced by heat of the day. We finished eating and cleaned off all of the breakfast dishes, returning them inside. While we were washing and putting away various dishes, Luke, my older brother, leaned over and whispered to me “Do you think mom will let us ride the four-wheeler?” Myself, being an optimistic little girl replied, “Yes, I think she will.” Shortly after the dishes were finished, I asked my mom if I could go ride. She, without hesitation, replied with an immediate no and then proceeded to discuss several reasons as to why I could not ride the four wheeler. “Why mom?” I proceeded to ask. I did not understand her reasoning. I thought we were old enough to ride the four-wheeler on our own being five and seven, we were practically adults. As the day passed and the more my mom said no, the more began I begged her to give in. Eventually, my mother said yes, agreeing to let my brother and me go.
Luke and I were thrilled; we ran as fast as we could to the shed, to get the four-wheeler. Although our shed was fairly close to our house, it felt like an eternity until we reached it. We swung the shed door open and there it was, we could hardly stand the fun, freedom and excitement, which we felt when we rode the four-wheeler. Luke and I both jumped on without any hesitation, both straddling the engine that would let us seem as though we were flying. Luke started it up and hearing the engine roar exhilarated me. We rode the four-wheeler for hours, until Luke had to use the restroom, therefore, we stopped. As he headed inside, I stayed planted on the seat alone, a moment I had secretly been waiting off. I had been begging to ride by myself all day. As I sat on the seat, I saw my opportunity to ride alone, and I thought to myself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” and began telling myself I’m going to be okay if I ride, mom just does not believe in me. Being at the young age of five and feeling fearless, I was set on taking the chance to ride alone.
Moments later I sped, around the house before I came to realization as to where I was. I had underestimated the space that I thought I had until and small drop off, which was located on the side of our house. Down I fell. The feeling of falling is a feeling I'll never forget. My body was at the complete mercy of gravity. Seconds later, I hit the ground, the four-wheeler rolling over me and luckily landing on my helmet. Sitting on the grass, I ached with pain, I could only think of how frustrated my mom was going to be. Within two minutes Luke noticed I was missing and walked around the corner and saw me laying in the grass, smashed by the four-wheeler. He ran to me and lifted the four-wheeler off of my head, meanwhile screaming for my mom. Before I knew it, Luke was dragging me out, and my mom was running to the scene. Seeing the fear in her eyes was more painful than the fall I had taken. That one look changed my life immensely.
After seeing that look I realized I was wrong, my mom was right, and I could not handle the four-wheeler alone and my bruised-up body agreed. The lesson I had learned was impactful and one that I needed to learn. On this particular day, I learned the reasoning behind my mom’s rules, and I had to trust that she was simply looking out for me and was far more knowledgeable than I. Through the multiple situations, that my mother has been by my side to help me through, I greatly appreciate all the rules she has set in place, to prevent me from harms way.
College Composition and Research
My Favorite Mistake
December 13, 2016
When "No" Means "No"
“Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, please can we?” I thought she would never say yes to riding the four wheeler. I knew at the time my mom was not in favor of me riding the four wheeler alone, however, on this particular occasion I was offering to ride with my big brother, Luke. “No Charlie, I do not have the time to watch you both,” my mother replied. As a fearless five-year-old, individual, I took that as a challenge that I was willing to accept. Eventually, through much persuasion, she gave in and reluctantly said yes. I never would have guessed that decision was going to be the decision that would lead me to learn a hard lesson. Shortly after receiving the the answer I had pleaded for, which was to ride with my older brother, I instantly disregarded my mother’s orders. I thought I could handle this “big girl” responsibility alone and unavoidably wrecked the four-wheeler instantly. Much to my mom’s dismay, I had defied her orders and finally understood the importance of her rules. My mother’s rules were not set in place to be unfair, but solely to protect me from the danger I was unable to recognize.
I remember the exact details that occurred on that particular day. The beautiful sun seeping in my windows and the heat of the sun, which gently rested on my face as I began to wake up. As I climbed out of bed and proceeded down the hallway reaching the top of the stairs, I was greeted by the sweet aroma of breakfast. As I traveled down the stairs and outside to eat breakfast, I immediately was embraced by heat of the day. We finished eating and cleaned off all of the breakfast dishes, returning them inside. While we were washing and putting away various dishes, Luke, my older brother, leaned over and whispered to me “Do you think mom will let us ride the four-wheeler?” Myself, being an optimistic little girl replied, “Yes, I think she will.” Shortly after the dishes were finished, I asked my mom if I could go ride. She, without hesitation, replied with an immediate no and then proceeded to discuss several reasons as to why I could not ride the four wheeler. “Why mom?” I proceeded to ask. I did not understand her reasoning. I thought we were old enough to ride the four-wheeler on our own being five and seven, we were practically adults. As the day passed and the more my mom said no, the more began I begged her to give in. Eventually, my mother said yes, agreeing to let my brother and me go.
Luke and I were thrilled; we ran as fast as we could to the shed, to get the four-wheeler. Although our shed was fairly close to our house, it felt like an eternity until we reached it. We swung the shed door open and there it was, we could hardly stand the fun, freedom and excitement, which we felt when we rode the four-wheeler. Luke and I both jumped on without any hesitation, both straddling the engine that would let us seem as though we were flying. Luke started it up and hearing the engine roar exhilarated me. We rode the four-wheeler for hours, until Luke had to use the restroom, therefore, we stopped. As he headed inside, I stayed planted on the seat alone, a moment I had secretly been waiting off. I had been begging to ride by myself all day. As I sat on the seat, I saw my opportunity to ride alone, and I thought to myself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” and began telling myself I’m going to be okay if I ride, mom just does not believe in me. Being at the young age of five and feeling fearless, I was set on taking the chance to ride alone.
Moments later I sped, around the house before I came to realization as to where I was. I had underestimated the space that I thought I had until and small drop off, which was located on the side of our house. Down I fell. The feeling of falling is a feeling I'll never forget. My body was at the complete mercy of gravity. Seconds later, I hit the ground, the four-wheeler rolling over me and luckily landing on my helmet. Sitting on the grass, I ached with pain, I could only think of how frustrated my mom was going to be. Within two minutes Luke noticed I was missing and walked around the corner and saw me laying in the grass, smashed by the four-wheeler. He ran to me and lifted the four-wheeler off of my head, meanwhile screaming for my mom. Before I knew it, Luke was dragging me out, and my mom was running to the scene. Seeing the fear in her eyes was more painful than the fall I had taken. That one look changed my life immensely.
After seeing that look I realized I was wrong, my mom was right, and I could not handle the four-wheeler alone and my bruised-up body agreed. The lesson I had learned was impactful and one that I needed to learn. On this particular day, I learned the reasoning behind my mom’s rules, and I had to trust that she was simply looking out for me and was far more knowledgeable than I. Through the multiple situations, that my mother has been by my side to help me through, I greatly appreciate all the rules she has set in place, to prevent me from harms way.