Personal Narrative: How Decisions Made In Grade School Have Amazing Consequences

Decisions Made In Grade School Have Amazing Consequences
When I was a child, I remember my father would often say, "You reap what you sow." Not until I became older did I fully understand the meaning of that phrase. It is possible for our surrounding environments and peers to influence us in making the wrong decisions that can damage our reputation or bruise our ego. Nevertheless, as children, we come to a point when we begin to realize that the choices we make will define our entire lives. How we react to mistakes and what we learn from them is the determining factor of our character.
Influenced by peers in the second grade, I made the choice to join in actions I would not have dreamed up on my own. My instincts knew it was wrong, and that

My father had recently gone through a kidney transplant and he was not working. My mother had to get a job cleaning other people's homes for this period; therefore, she was the one working. Petrified, I realized that my father was the one who answered the telephone call and he would be the one who came to the school to address what I had done. My father arrived and after he had spoken with the staff, we got in the car and drove home in silence, which was unusual as well as troubling. When we got home, my father told me to go to my bedroom and think about what I had done. It seemed strange that he would just send me to my room and I thought the silence was more unbearable than any scolding would have been. I was so ashamed. I cried and asked myself why I would do such a thing, knowing it was wrong. When my mother came home, my parents called me out of the bedroom and my father asked, "Do you want to tell your mom what you did at school today?" I burst into tears, crying so hard I could not speak. My mother then said to my father, "What do you think we should do for her punishment?" My father said, “I think she has learned her lesson.” He calmly told my mother that the look on my face and the obvious anguish I felt was punishment enough. The most important lesson I learned that day was that choosing to take part in something I felt was wrong had painful consequences. The escapade humiliated me as I faced my parents, and their reaction humbled me. It was clear to them that I had realized my mistake because it crushed me to have done something wrong. The school officials concluded that we had defaced the girls’ restroom. Ultimately, even though I could not explain my actions because I could only cry in shame, it was determined that I was a non-participant and that I was not considered a problem. The terrible way I felt for