When I was a child, I was popular for my curiosity. I wanted to know things that were way above my abilities. My curiosity had been helpful for some time because it contributed to the development of desirable attributes such as risk taking. I had always admired my father and how he drove the family car wherever we were going out for family fun days, being driven to school or when he was driving to work. This admiration coupled with my curiosity led me to the development of the urge to drive a car at a young age.
One Sunday afternoon as my parents were busy assessing the plan for the new house that they were planning to construct, I took the car key from the coffee table and went to the garage ready to attempt driving the family car. I had mastered the art of driving from my father and I was certain that I could drive the car with limited difficulty. As I sat on the driver’s seat, I was relatively scared of the possibility of causing an accident but as I put the key in the ignition, I became more confident and I was ready to take the risk. I started the car and within a few minutes, I was out of the compound heading to the main highway. Driving was a beautiful experience and as I drove the car, I felt the excitement and the need to grow up and acquire a driving license such that I could drive without fear.
The road leading to the highway was all weather and relatively busy with people walking to and from their homes. As I was enjoying the driving experience, a dog suddenly appeared in front of the car. I had to save myself and the dog from the possibility of death or injury. In addition, I had to save the care from an accident because my parents would be frustrated and disappointed by my actions if an accident were to occur. As I swerved to escape the dog, I lost control and rammed the car into a tree beside the road. I do not know the events that transpired after the accident because I woke up and found myself in the hospital surrounded by my family members who seemed happy to know that I was alive. At that moment, I knew that I had a lot of questions to answer and numerous apologies to make. My mother narrated the scenario of the accident and explained how the efforts of good Samaritans saved my life. She also explained that the car was badly damaged but my father had already contacted the insurance company responsible and they had promised to assess the situation and take the necessary action.
Inasmuch as I was not in pain because of the painkillers that I had been injected, I could feel that my leg was heavy. My father who was very angry with me explained, with the help of the doctors, that I had suffered a major fracture on my right leg and this could take months to heal. The doctor advised that I was to attend weekly medial assessments and physical therapy sessions as part of my healing program. I was to use a wheel chair and then crutches for some weeks before I could regain the proper balancing and stamina that could enable me walk without the help of such apparatus.
When I was discharged from the hospital, my father took time to express his disappointment in me with regard to the accident I had caused and the injury that occurred. His disappointment was in the fact that my curiosity led the family into incurring loses with regard to car repair and hospital bills. In addition, he explained that my mistake arose from my childish desire of wanting to know things that were the responsbility of an adult population. He insisted that as a child, they were responsible for my wellbeing and it was disappointing to see how indiscipline I had become despite their relentless efforts to ensure that I was well behaved. While expressing his disappointment, my father insisted that upon healing I was to be grounded for two months with double family chores during that period. In addition, he insisted that I was to attend counseling sessions upon the completion of my physiotherapy sessions. From his perspective, these sessions were to help me understand the dangers of curiosity especially when handling machinery or any other thing that could result in accidents, injuries, or even death when mishandled.
Inasmuch as my friends, who were majorly my peers perceived, me as a hero for stealing the car and causing an accident, the adult population in my neighborhood were disappointed to the extent that most of my friends were banned from seeing me by their parents. My teachers at school expressed their disappointment by calling me to attend numerous guidance and counseling sessions. Their objective was to ensure that I understood my mistake and took the punishments given as essential points of correction. Life both at home and school was relatively uncomfortable because my parents, the neighbors and teachers felt that it was their responsbility to ensure that no child in the neighborhood repeated such a mistake in future.
Parents and the community often have certain expectations on how they would want to socialize their children. These expectations often define the discipline mechanisms that they employ to ensure success. My parents had always been relatively liberal with regard to disciplining children. This in the view of my father was the main reason for my misbehavior. Since that day, my parents became stricter and highly cautious with my siblings.
The accident taught me the dangers of curiosity. Being curious and developing risk taking attributes may be advantageous especially with regard to the possibility of learning new things with limited assistance. However, curiosity is dangerous because it can possibly lead an individual into actions that result into accidents and disappointments. Ever since the accident, I have learned the benefits of being reasonable and thoughtful before taking an action. Such an approach to actions has helped me in perceiving the possible repercussions of an activity before they occur. In addition, being thoughtful and reasonable has made me a dependable individual especially in situations where there is need for in-depth deliberations on different matters. Being young and curious resulted in undesirable behavior when I was young. However, the consequences of my behavior were also essential leaning points because they helped me in developing an understanding of the benefits of operating in accordance with the expectations of my parents and the community considering that they have the best plans for me.