My Memory Book

Chapter 4
Pain

By: Reid Erdwien

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     I am proud of myself when it comes to me being physically hurt. A lot of people see breaking a bone as some kind of grand adventure. To me, that just seems stupid. I’m proud to say that I have never broken a bone in my life. Nor have I sustained any serious injuries since an early age. No that I’ve not been stupid as a kid, and almost got myself killed. The most serious injury I got at a very early age. I was riding my bicycle, and I guess, didn’t see the metal post right in front of me. That actually required stitches on my forehead, and is probably the closest I have come to dying. Another thing I don’t quite remember when, but one time I tried something incredibly stupid. My siblings and I thought it would be a great idea to ride down the stairs. I go into a laundry tub and started it down the stairs. It was crazy, I was thrown clear when it hit the ground though.
     Moving on to painful things that were not because of my own stupidity. At my sister’s birthday party, I was playing in the park. I was also enjoying a kool-aid drink pack. I ran off for a few minutes, and when I came back, a wasp had infested my drink. I didn’t notice it though, and drank some. The poor little wasp was probably so confused, it stung the roof of my mouth before flying out. It left a bump on the top of my mouth for a few years later. Other than that, hurting myself on playground equipment was common. I think it’s a real shame that they are switching to plastic equipment nowadays. Metal was hardcore. Now, how are kids going to learn from getting their head knocked in how physics works? But, people will always cry about safety.
     Fear and pain are often related, so I will also talk about my fears. One of my most reoccurring fears is the irrational fear of airplanes. It might be a fear of heights, but airplanes seem to frighten me more. When I was young, I was simply scared because I thought there was a 90% chance of the plane going down in a huge fireball. Even today, when I know the true statistics, and have been on a number of flights, I still feel I little freaked out near take-off and landing. It makes no sense, but it’s probably just my instinct kicking in. I should probably fully figure out how an airplane works, because like most fears, this one is built on fear of the unknown.
     As for growing up, or “Rites of Passage”, I think I have handled that area well. I believe I matured faster than most kids. I think I have accepted the new parts of growing up well. I do understand how hard growing up is for some people though. I don’t think that there is a single moment that you “grow up” in. It’s a long process, and some people try to fight that process, which can be painful. The best thing to do is to just “go with the flow”, and you’ll be just fine.