Childhood Memory

     My sister's name is Ashton and she is now twenty-one years old. Since she is three and a half years older than me, she was always the first one to try something new. We both grew up dancing and playing multiple sports like volleyball, soccer, baseball, basketball and inline skating. Our parents always liked to put us in the same sports and extracirricualer activities even though most of the time my sister and I hated being the same. When she turned thirteen she asked our dad if she could compete in inline skating competitions. He was hesitant at first but soon decided it could be a nice change for her. Little did he know that it would involve a traumatic experience for our whole family.

     It was my sister's first skating meet and our whole family was anxious. My sister was racing five other girls her age in a four lap race. The whole time before the race, all my sister talked about was how amazing and cool the track looked. It was light blue with a smooth, glossy coating over top. It looked as if it had just been cleaned the night before. My families excitement flourished as my sister's race grew near. Finally, her race was called and she glided across the floor toward the start line.

     My sister readied herself and took a deep breath. I could see the nervous look in her eyes. Then, the buzzer sounded and off they went. She started off at the front of the pack, but when lap three hit she started to slow. I thought she was going to stop and give up, however she started to speed up. She was going so fast I was excited she was going to catch back up. She did finally catch back up, but when she turned the last time on lap four, the nightmare began. Her front wheel caught the back of another racers skate and they both went down. My sister spun around and slid across the floor, head first in to the cement wall.

     My sister suffered a minor concussion and some pretty intense scraps and bruises. She was in so much pain for two weeks after the accident. It was so terrifying for my sister, as well as, my family. We are all so thankful that she was wearing a helmet and is perfectly fine today. This memory will always be in the back of my mind, as it was a very life changing experience. Be as safe as you possibly can, you never know what will happen.