Journal 1B

1. When I was in middle school, I dislocated my shoulder at recess.
2. The man at the corner store caught me trying to steal candy.
3. The summer before freshman year started my sister was kidnapped and raped.


1. It was a day in spring. The sun was beaming down like it was summer. Everybody at lunchtime knew what this meant. It was time for recess. Yes I did say recess. It was time for flag football, double-dutch, basketball, and fun on the jungle gym. I chose to pay with my friends, a decision I should have never made. It was a flag football game I would never forget. It was a battle of the sexes, girls versus boys. I had the football in my hand, running towards my goal post and BOOM!! I’m on the floor screaming in pain. “I thought this was flag football.” I said to myself. The ambulance rushed me to the hospital. They snapped my am back into place and checked to see if my vitals were ok. I went to school the next day receiving get-well gifts from everyone including the boy that tackled me. I didn’t want him to get in trouble that much with the school, so I talked to the principal about how I felt everything was not entirely his fault. I was feeling a little bit of pain in my arm but he did give me a memory of my life that would never be forgotten.

2. There was not much that I could possibly say when I heard he man say “Hey you stop there right now!” that instant I knew something was wrong. Why did I do such a stupid thing as a dare? I stood there as he exclaimed “Did you take something from my store without paying for it?” “No sir, why would you think such a thing, is it because I'm black?” I muttered to him. He said “No, but I did see you take something” standing there in dismay I asked, “How is that?” He simply stated “I do have cameras in my store, you know.” I was definitely caught. I begged him to not call the police, after all this was my first time doing anything so outrageous. He promised he wouldn’t tell as long as I gave whatever it was that I took back to him. I handed him the snickers and walked out of the store towards my friends. They asked, “What happened?” I simply replied, “I didn’t get it” This was my first and last time stealing candy but I have a memory to take with me to my grave.

3. It was the night that turned my life around. I was supposed to be going to my cousins’ barbecue and I was supposed to take my sisters with me. Things didn’t go as I had planned. I called my sister repeatedly that night, I remembered it like it was yesterday. I was so upset when she did not answer my calls and I had no idea what she was going through. I went to the barbecue upset that she was not there and that she was like my best friend and was ignoring my calls. The barbecue ended at three in the morning. My aunts cleaned up the place and my mom and I headed home. The next day m baby sister was on the phone asking me if I had seen our older sister. I told her “no I haven’t I thought she was with you.” My baby sister said “no, she went to the park early in the morning yesterday and hasn’t come home since.” I rushed over to the house to figure out what was going on. We immediately called the police, which their standard procedure was waiting 24hrs before they actually send out people to look for her. I was infuriated because I felt it was not fair my sister could be lost somewhere and you cant do anything. It was a day and the search had begun. They searched everywhere until they got a call from king’s county hospital. They had found her. My little sister and I walked into the hospital glad to find my sister, but that happiness soon turned to sorrow when we saw how she looked. From what we found out she was kidnapped for 2 days, and returned to a different park when they were done raping her. With her help they caught the man who did these acts and placed him in jail. He is now serving 25 years to life, but that was the summer that my life changed from safe to unsafe. I was given a second chance to see my sister, a chance most people do not get.