I have had some pretty nasty injuries throughout my childhood, especially when residing in Jamaica. I twisted my ankle plenty of times, chipped my tooth, and nearly cracked my skull on concrete stairs (Thank God I’m still here.) None of those injuries had the same effect on me as the gnarly scar on my ankle. That injury is still with me till this day.

It was a sunny day and I was around eight years of age. I was at home with my aunty, she was more like my older sister being only ten years older than me. One of her school friends called her to ride their bikes, this is where I made my gruesome mistake. Instead of sitting down and leaving my aunt with her friend I begged her to bring me along with her. She said no but I persisted. She tried to take off on her bike without me so I chased her and jumped on her bike pegs without any warning. I messed up my trajectory and ended up getting my right foot stuck in the chains and scraped some skin off my ankle. I do not vividly remember what it felt like but all I know is that I had to go to the doctor. It could have all been avoided. I learned from that incident not to follow people especially when they advise against it. 

I still have the scar to remind me not to be a follower. This correlates to the present because I’ll always think twice before doing something someone else is doing. I’d rather have someone else follow me and I be the leader. That’s why I get so irritated when I see my siblings following other people instead of paving their own path. I do not believe anyone should be a follower, what works for one person might not work for another. My accident could have been much worse than just a laceration so I am thankful for my life.  Moral of the story: Think twice before following.