On August 19th my family and I set out on a weekend trip for my older brother Brandon’s

baseball tournament. I had travelled to what seemed like 1,098 of these tournaments now and
they never got any better. All I did was sit in the stands, in the blistering sun and cheer on my
brother when he did something good. However, this vacation was different. We were going to
Kansas City, Missouri which meant a Royals game! For some reason in my 10 year old brain
professional baseball was going to be much more fun to watch than my teenage brother. After a
long 10 hour car ride, filled with many bathroom and snack breaks, we finally made it to our
hotel. I helped unpack the car and bring everything into our hotel room before jumping in the
shower. After this I hoisted my little worn out body from travelling into the big comfy bed and had
an amazing night of sleep. This sleep was ruined by an alarm clock at 6 a.m. which meant we
had to start getting ready for a day of baseball. Brandon played Friday, Saturday and Sunday
which meant I had to wait 3 whole days before going to the big game I was excited for.
Preparing for a day of baseball meant filling up water bottles, packing the cooler, and finding
every piece of Brandon’s uniform he had managed to lose in just one morning. Luckily the three
days went by fast due to an amazing performance by my brother’s team. They went undefeated
and won the whole tournament! On Monday morning I woke up feeling energized and couldn’t
wait to get out the door. I had my mom braid my hair in pigtails and clipped in my favorite red,
white, and blue bows. After tugging on my patriotic tank top and mini skirt, I slipped on my
favorite white wedge sandals. To top off the whole outfit I latched my new anklet around my
ankle that was filled with star shaped beads. A perfect outfit for the perfect day! Once we arrived
at the stadium I was all smiles and couldn’t wait for the game to start. To get me to stop
squirming in my seat my dad went and bought me some popcorn. Finally once the game started
I settled down and was watching each player intensely. This game had much more action than
any of my brothers! During the 7th inning stretch my mom asked me to go down the stairs and
meet Brandon by the fence so she could take a picture of us in front of the field. Of course I
agreed, this meant I got to be closer to the field. I started my journey down the big concrete
steps when my dad yelled my name and I turned back to see what he needed. As I did this my
sandal slipped on the step and slid directly under one of the stadium seats in front of me. At first
I was just embarrassed and pulled out my foot as I sat on the step. That’s when I saw the huge
gash on the top of my foot and blood now staining my favorite pair of shoes. My anklet was cut
leaving beads all around me. I immediately burst into tears due to the pain and the sight of
blood. My mom, who is a nurse, rushed down the stairs and didn’t quite know how bad it was
until she saw my foot for herself. She immediately tried calling for the EMTs that are located in
the stadium but I screamed over her telling her I didn’t want to go to the hospital. She didn’t
comply right away but eventually agreed that she would just take me back to the hotel and try to
place steri strips over the gash. My dad came and picked me up off the step and carried me to
the car. After what seemed like the longest car ride ever we finally made it back to the hotel
where my mom gave me some pain medicine. The great thing about my mom is that she is
always prepared. So she pulled out her handy first aid kit and went to work on my foot. Me
being a person who is horrified by the sight of blood had to hide my face in the pillow until she
was done. My mom was eventually able to stop the bleeding by pulling together the wound and
securing it with steri strips, which act like stitches, and then wrap my foot in a bandage. That
night as we returned home all I could think to myself was, I hate baseball.