The Accident

Have you ever been close to losing the person that you love most? It’s a heart wrenching feeling when you don’t know if that person will be okay, it is especially difficult as a child. I was seven years old when my mom was in a terrible accident that put her in the hospital for weeks and physical therapy for months. I will never forget the day that it happened, it’s clearer than any memory from my childhood and I know it will stick with me forever.

It was a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, the sky was clear and the grass was green. The air seemed unusually fresh because it had rained the night before; I decided that it was too nice of a day to stay inside. So I called my friends from down the street, Kelsie and Paige and told them that we needed to get off our lazy butts and go swimming. After begging my Mom to take us; bribing her with trash duty for a week and an alternate ride home, she gave in. She mentioned that she needed gas anyway and instead of waiting like she was going to, she would grab gas while she was out.

My mom dropped me and my friends off first because the pool was on the way to the gas station. I was so excited to swim that I never even said goodbye or I love you to her before we ran inside. By mid-day the sun was beating down on our backs and the pool was so full that it was hard to walk around let alone swim. Thankfully, Kelsie and Paige’s mom had showed up just in time to save us from the crowd, we were ready to leave. When we got back to their house, the message machine was beaming. “We have to get you home immediately,” Leslie said. I knew then in the pit of my stomach that something was wrong.

I opened the car door and was running inside before Leslie had even parked the car. When I walked inside my house, it smelled like homemade banana bread like it was fresh out of the oven, little did I know that it was the last time my house smelled like that for a while. My older brother Tom was waiting for me in the living room. He looked so different, I had never seen him like this, distraught and worried. All he told me was that Mom was hurt and we needed to get in the car and go see her. Not knowing what was going on, I hopped into his beat up old Ranger and we drove off. He didn’t say a word on the way there. I remember looking over at him and seeing tears roll down his sun burned face, I had never seen my brother cry before. He became a real person to me that day, with real emotions.

The car ride on the way to the hospital was the longest in my life, waiting in anticipation of what happened. Walking into the lobby of the hospital was so surreal that it almost felt like a dream, I was so anxious that I was shaking. After checking to see which room she was in we went into the elevator and rode it up. I remember thinking that the music in the elevator was horrible, and unnecessary. The closer that I got to her room the more I started to shake. The last hallway was pure white, not a painting on the wall and smelled like hospital food. It seemed so long but after turning the last corner I saw my entire family. Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were lined up staring at my reaction.

When I walked into my mom’s room for the first time, I felt as if a train had just hit me. Tubes were in and out of her arms, chest and nose. Her right leg was posted up and in a huge cast, and she was being held together by rods. She was black and blue; my first reaction was that she was dead. I couldn’t breathe and began crying uncontrollably. Immediately I ran into my brother’s arms and didn’t let go. My dad decided that it wasn’t good for me to stay at the hospital for too long, so my brothers and I went home with my Aunt and her family, and my dad stayed with my mom. I remember kicking and screaming all the way out down to the garage. I wanted so badly to stay with my parents, and more than ever to hug my mom and smell her favorite perfume, Lilac. Aunt Candy decided that it would be better to grab our own things from the house to make us feel more at home at her place. I stuffed my clothes together; a pillow and sleeping bag, then I snuck into my mom’s room, took her perfume and sprayed it on my pillow. It was all that I knew to do to give me a piece of her.

That night I pleaded with my Aunt Candy to tell me what happened, I didn’t want her to sugar coat it for me all I wanted was the truth. She told me that my mom went to the corner gas station to fill up her tank, after doing so she decided to get a car wash. When she pulled up to put her code in, she thought she had put it in park but instead she put it in reverse. She took her foot off the brake and put one foot out of the van, and before she could pull herself back in the van she was dragged twenty feet backwards and she finally let go. The paramedics said that if she didn’t let go of the van door when she did, the door would have snapped off and crushed her. She had forty stitches in her right shin, broke her pelvis in three places, and had horrible road rash and bruising all over her body. She was lucky to be alive. I had a new appreciation for my Aunt that night because she was honest with me like I was an adult and could handle it.

However, over the week that I stayed there I thought a lot about that day. I began to replay every event in my mind, like if I had never pushed her to take me swimming then she wouldn’t have gone to get gas. Or if I would have gone with her, nothing would’ve happened; I would have noticed that it wasn’t in park. I was only able to see my mom twice that week. It was hard to look at her, she looked broken to me. It was hard for her to move and talk because she was still pretty swollen. But every time before I left her bed I was sure to say I love you.

I went home the week after, I couldn’t keep missing school so my Grandma Mary decided that we needed her help and she would stay with us until Mom got better. She was released from the hospital almost a month after the accident. I realized after she moved in that my Grandma had a coldness about her that made life at home hard to live with. My brothers were always gone at their friend’s, Mom couldn’t leave her room and my dad had to take on extra hours to keep up with the bills. I remember feeling really empty and alone, I would just sit in my room and watch TV waiting for time to pass.

One night I really wanted to eat dinner with my mom; I always had to be so proper with my grandma at the table, and she always made me eat my vegetables. All I needed was a little laughter and comfort with my mom. But it was against the rules, when my Grandma caught me sneaking upstairs, she took me downstairs and yelled at me. She told me that if I wanted to see her better then I had to let her rest and leave her alone. It broke my heart, and I resented Grandma Mary for years after.

My Mom began to get better after a few months of physical therapy. She had to walk with either crutches, a four wheeled walker or be pushed in a wheelchair. She usually chose the walker, unless it was a rainy day and her pelvis hurt. Her shin was almost healed completely after a few months, I used to trace her scar with my fingers, and always joke that it looks like an upside down “Y.”

Even though my mom was finally better, I still had serious problems leaving her. I dreaded school everyday and would cry to stay home with her. I didn’t want to let her out of my sight, and made everyone’s life miserable fighting for it. For a while after, I couldn’t stay at my friend’s house overnight because of the fear that something was going to happen. Not only did this hurt my friendships, it was also detrimental to my emotional well-being. The memory of this accident haunted me for years. At this point in my life I have gotten over the fear of leaving my mom, but the reality of almost losing the person that I love most will stay with me forever.

Scruples: MacBeth

1. Selling a car with no transmission.
If I was selling a car and the transmission was out and I needed to replace it or lie and tell the buyer I would definitely either buy a new transmission or let them know that it's out and I would have to dock the price according to that glitch. My reasoning for this is because I grew up with a family full of mechanics, and two things that they taught me is never buy a car without getting a professional look at it first, and never sell a car that is damaged. When i was young, my brother bought a Baha Beetle without checking it out first and it had dozens of things wrong. He didn't realize that it was damaged until he broke down on the way home and there was nothing that he could do at that point. It's extremely unethical to lie to someone about an expensive purchase because most likely they do not have the money to buy another.

2. Drafted to fight a war-do you refuse and risk prison?
In my case, I would never be able to fight in a war and kill people just to get ahead in foreign policies for our government. Unless it was the end of our country and our freedom was being risked to the highest extent I would refuse and risk prison. I think that it is a horrible thing to force someone to see things and do things that would be asked in war. Then attempt to send them to jail for their personal beliefs, that is what our government should avoid.

3. Copying and Swapping expensive computer software-would you do it?
Depending upon the software and what I was using it for I think I could do it. However, it would have to be a life and death situation, and there is no way that I would illegally copy software for a frivolous reason. Snce it is illegal, the police could trace it without a problem, it's a big mistake that I am not willing to do unless in extrenuating circumstance.

4. You dislike all political parties, do you vote?
After learning so much about women's rights, I don't think I could ever waste my vote as a citizen. No matter how bad the politcal parties, I would try to decide which party is the lesser of two evils. Every vote matters in any election.

5. A vagrant asks for $1, you suspect it will be spent on alcohol, do you still give it to him?
First of all, I can't recall any type of liquor that would only cost a dollar. Secondly, if this man is so desperate maybe the only thing that can keep him happy is alcohol, who are you to say that he shouldn't have it especially when he has nothing else. Lastly, if you feel so strongly about him not spending one dollar on alcohol, i've always learned to just go buy him a hamburger or something instead of giving him money.

6. You get in an auto accident, your lawyer could get you a larger settlement if you exaggerate the extent of your injuries, do you do so?
I think that in any auto accident, someone is definitly at fault. In my case when someone hit me and totalled my car, it was extremely difficult to find another car. If the settlement will get you a new ride and pay the medical expenses involved then you should do so. But if you are looking for a much larger amount than you need, then it's overkill and I wouldn't take advantage of that person's insurance company more than I need to.

7. You attend class all year, an aquaintance who rarely shows up, asks to copy your notes-do you consent?
I have been in this situation before and I decided that it wasn't fair for them to pass the class off of my notes. So I refused to give them to her, however if she can find another person willing then that's great for her. But I won't play a part in her catching up for missing class too much.

8. Your significant other has an affair, you have no idea how long its been going on, do you leave him/her?
Absolutly! Anyone who will cheat once, will do it again. Especially if you let them get away with it. I don't care how long, if it was once or many times but if that person decides someone out there is better, then thats the choice they made and they need to deal with the choice they made.

9. You and your friend like the same guy, your friend asks him out, then two days later he asks you out, do you say yes or no?
There is no question about this one, I would definetly say no for many reasons. First, my friend would be heartbroken if I would have said yes and she is more important by far than any guy, especially when he knows we are friends and still does something like that. Lastly, I would never go out with anyone who is that much of a jerk to try and breakup a friendship.

10. It's your first chance to vote in a presidential election, its a close contest and when your checking if your registered you see that your registered twice. Do you vote twice?
Absolutly. This is because it won't really hurt anyone, and of course I want my choice to win and run the country. It's a huge responsibility and I will make sure that I do everything (legally) possible to get my choice in the seat.

Introduction

There are many things that I expect from this course such as furthering my knowledge and skills as a writer. I think I could always use more grammar and punctuation guides, but also a deeper way of looking at novels and stories. Using Shakespeare and Macbeth as examples. There are also so many techniques to use when your creating a story or writing an argumentative essay that it would be helpful to also become better at that.

I feel as though my biggest strength in English is being able to put my thoughts into an organized essay as well as digging up facts to support my own words. I have gotten great grades on the essays that I have completed in the past and hopefully more in the future. But even though I have become very good at writing essays I could always become better at my format and general focus on one topic. This is my introduction to an essay that I did just a few weeks ago about Reproductive Rights:
"A woman’s right to choose is one of the most important freedoms that a woman can have. Being able to make an emotional decision about your own body is crucial to our privacy. It should not be the decision for a room full of strangers, who will most likely never have to deal with such a situation. Roe vs. Wade is a controversial Supreme Court case in 1973 that challenged the right for a woman to receive an abortion. Most laws before this case that were pro-life violated a constitutional rights to privacy under the fourteenth amendment. So the decision was made that it was the woman’s right to choose, and it should stay that way."

Although I am pretty strong in the Essay department, my weakness in English is definitely reading and understanding sonnets well enough to apply the reading to an assignment. It's extremely hard for me to understand the language that they used back then and the way they wrote as well. Poetry was never a strong point but it is something that I am willing to work on and become better at. I don't have any proof of my weakness in poetry but that fact that I'm taking this class again should be proof enough that I still have things that I could improve. :)