This story takes place when I was about 8-10 years old, and it's about me hurting my best friend at the time. This shocked me quite a bit because it was one of the first times I realized I was capable of hurting people. But, this experience I would say probably changed me for the better and has shaped me into who I am today.

In my elementary school, we had this metal dome on the playground that was a bunch of colorful bars connected to form geometric shapes that you could climb on. This dome was the main attraction on the playground. My friends would race to see who could climb it the fastest every day. King of the Hill was the game to see who could climb up the fastest and keep his position.

One wet December day it was time for recess right, and we all got ready to race out there to see who was going to climb the dome the fastest. This time, though, would end in an accident. We all lined up ready, set, …bell went off, and we began racing across the blacktop, probably running a lot slower than it felt, but over the curb and onto the bark, ready to climb the slick metal bars. This dome was about eight-feet tall and wasn't difficult to climb, but the rain made it slick. My friend Gavin and I were ahead, and, when we nearly reached the top, I made the sudden impulsive decision to shove Gavin off, for some reason. I was overly riled up about winning, and I wasn't sure why I did it. But, it was over in the blink of an eye. All I heard out of him was a gasp before the thunderous snap on his landing.

I instantly knew what I had done. I jumped down, repeatedly apologizing but I don't think he heard me. He was screaming with his arm pointing in a peculiar way. His shoulder was a little lopsided and he wouldn't let anyone touch him. He rolled there screaming until the playground staff came out and helped him get to the office. This incident did not result in me getting in trouble or anything, but, strangely enough, after this happened, I have no recollection of talking to or even seeing Gavin again.

After this happened, I went through pretty significant change. Before the incident, I was very outgoing, and liked being physical with my friends. I was constantly playing football and wrestling. Afterwards, I was afraid of touching anyone because of the snap I heard ringing in my head. It wasn’t very long before I got over it, and just came to the realization that I had to be very careful with my interactions. Lasting effects of this incident have left me valuing personal space a lot more than I might have before. Additionally, I would say I'm still pretty uncomfortable with touching anyone unless I really know them, and even then I still mostly won’t.

I do still wonder from time to time about what happened to Gavin, since I don't remember him after the incident. I am curious if he hated me for that, or maybe forgave me, but I doubt I will ever learn. This incident was definitely a learning experience in my life about keeping your hands to yourself and how literal that should be taken, because if you don’t, you could break your friend's arm.

© Joshua. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.