Hyland 1 Cody Hyland Bonnie Moore English 2010 January 12, 2014 Am I in Trouble? Don't break the rules.

Always follow them, or else you'll get in trouble, right? Well as a child, this is a true statement. In my house,my mother was the "rule" caretaker, and if one broke a rule, it meant the end of the world. No more television, no more toys, no more fun, and worst of all, you must spend the rest of your life in the dreaded "Time Out Chair"(at least it felt like the rest of your life). As a result, mylearning of these consequences transformed me into a momma's boy. I never wanted to betray her rules. I knew ofthe aftereffect and couldn't bear to lose my privileges. Although, in certain situations, the rules can be broken, but only fora good cause. Now being a naive little kid, J didn't understand this. Nonetheless, however, while traveling to school one morning, my knowledge of . rule breaking changed forever. Now before I continue, let me give you some background information. For me, Highlands Ranch, Colorado is always going to be my home. Its small community, reach~ng just outside of Denver, is a warm neighborhood full of strong relationships and plenty of open land..Everything is conveniently close, meaning the local grocery stores and schools are only minutes away. Although, the best part about Highlands Ranch are the green belts, or open fields, that seemed to connect every neighborhood with its small cement paths.

Hyland 2 Through my childish eyes, the green belts were wonderlands filled with adventure. The lush tender growth of small leafy trees, rough thorny bushes, and wildlife grew for acres it seemed. Everything from the coyotes and wild cats chaSing the birds, down to the wind escorting the tumble weeds gave off a sense of energy, as if the green belt was trying to speak toyou'saying "I am alive." One particular green belt just layup the road from my house and was beneficial for its pathway leading right to the elementary school. Every morning from 1st to 6th Grade, my older brother and I would scooter our way to school using this advantageous path. At its entrance, leaving behind a calm and hospitable neighborhood, the cement route became a long downward hill that screamed rollercoaster to mine and my brother's eyes. Near the bottom of this extreme hill was a T like intersection that if you went straight, you'd continue the rollercoaster ride and end up in the conjoining neighborhood. However, if one chose left, they would have to slam on there breaks like a hammer hitting a nail, drifting that left turn and eventually find there way to the elementary school. At this very intersection, the rules would forever be broken. Before leaving for school, and before kissing me on the cheek and telling my brother and I she loved uS, my mother would look us in the eye and with astern look upon her face and say "Never, under no circumstances, will either of you leave each others sights. Always stay together." This was an important rule, ~not to mention how serious she was when telling us. My mother was very brave and cautious when it came to her two sons leaving alone to school.

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Soon after her speech, however, we'd grab our scooters} race down the cuI de sac, up the street, eventually leading to the top of that rollercoaster hill. As I looked over the wildlife scene of the green belt, little did I know that ina few minutes, my life would change forever? Now being brothers, my brother and I would challenge each other with stupid mundane tasks only to see who was more adventurous than the other. And on this clear blue-sky day, at the top of this steep "adventurous" hill, I turned to my . brother with a brash tone and said, "I dare you to ride down the hill with out using your breaks". He replied with enthusiasm, "Okay", and began his decent down the rightward bend, going faster and faster ulltil his rocket like speed brought him out of my sight. .That was my queue to start the decent Taking my time, I would come to what I thought was a joke. The greenwheeled scooter was 20 feet past the intersection and my brother was rolling around in the dirt, teeth clenched tight, eyes shut with pain, and holding his right wrist with caution. I soon reached him and tho:ught he was pulling my arm, so I laughed and said "Nice try, I know yourfaking it NoW come one, I'll race you to school." But to my surprise, my brother with tears and agony on his face yelled back "SHUT UP! I can't. move my arm. Go get mom." Now knowing he was really hurt, I replied with a panicked voice, "No! Mom said never to leave each others side, no matter what.". My brother could only then let out a pain filled yell and begin to cry even harder. It was a rather frightening

Hyland 4 scene, especially to my young eyes to see my brother, for the first time, is really physically hurt. It then camethe time to make the hardest choice an 8 year old could make. Either abandon my brother and break my moms rule or continue to watch my brother's rage of pain and hope somebodywill come to help.. Logic wasn't even in my vocabulary at that age and I couldn't figure out what decision would be best. I can'tleave mybrother, 1 willget in trouble. Mom said
always stay together. But he is really hurt Who will help him?

Fortunately, after a hard debate, I turned around and began the ascent back up the tremendous hill. My left leg began to ache, for that was the leg I pushed my scooters momentum with, and the cries of my brother began to get fainter and fainter. But it didn't matter, for I was on a mission to find my mother,whom I betrayed by breaking her rule . . Arriving just outside my house; fear began to tremble through my body. My . heart pounding like a brick, sweat seeped at my head, my feet, acting as glue, couldn't seem to take another step forward. .Everything went quiet. What am I
going to say? How am I suppose to confess to mY mother? Tears began streaming

down my cheeks; my breath became short and I finally burst into my home, soon finding myself in my mother's arms. I was pleading my heart out, asking 'for forgiveness, but to my surprise, My mother picked me up, lead me to the car and looked my straight in the eye, "Where is your brother?" To make a longstory short, we found my brother, took him to the hospital, and brought him back home to rest his broken arm. I stopped crying by then and

Hyland 5 had the perfect chance to apologize for breaking my mom's rule, but before I could speak, she turned to me and said how proud she was for the decision I made and let me skip the rest of the school day. Shocked, with my mouth dropped to the floor, I slowly walked to my room, stunned that I wasn't in trouble. This whole experience brought me to the conclusion that that was the day I began to think logically about my decisions. It truly is ok to break the rules, as long as the consequences are for the good. Because my brother broke his arm and because my mother made that one rule, I can now say that I changed my beliefs on rule breaking that day.