Realization
Gabriel Rosas
When I went to Cananea during winter vacation, we decided to use kayaks on a pond. We had two kayaks with a two-person capacity each. My cousins, my siblings and I worked in pairs to row across the pond. My sister went with my cousin, while I went with my brother. We started rowing the boat towards a small island in the middle of the pond. A weird humid smell coming from algae looking plants filled my nose. It was a sour and acid smell. It was a very unpleasant smell. We could not do anything about it, so we kept rowing. The closer we went to land, the farther it felt. The algae producing the smell was slowing the rows by attaching to them. The rows were heavier with them, so they also made us get tired easier.
We decided to rest for a moment, putting our backs on the kayak seats. My brother was the most tired of us both, putting all his weight into the seat. He unbalanced the kayak and we ended up falling into the water. We wore vests that floated on the water just in case something like this happened. The algae were complicating things since it wrapped all around our bodies. My brother just floated and laughed. I focused on getting into the boat again, and barely could flip the kayak since my arms were being stopped by the algae as well. The vests kept us floating, so it was not a serious problem. I was angry and yelled at my brother
“Help me pick up the boat”
He got scared and after that, he did help me to flip the boat. I helped him to get into the boat and then he helped me.
After the small accident, we kept rowing to the island. I rowed hard, while my brother rowed in a slower pace. This frustrated me, so I yelled at him again.
“Start rowing, you are so slow!”
He seemed sad and rowed faster. Around a minute of rowing, we finally had reached the island. I was happy that our goal was met and sat down to rest. My sister and cousin were already there, since they did not fall. We stayed there for around 10 minutes and left, since there was not much to do.
Now, months later I was in Bates talking to my cousin, when a sour and acid smell went into my nose. I did not know if it was the food or something else, but either way it helped me remember. That same day I got yelled at by a superior. This made me go back to the kayaks. I relived what I did to my brother. He was having fun with our fall, but I took it away when I screamed at him. Same thing had happened to me. I enjoyed a moment until it was taken away by a cadet that yelled at me.
“Lock it up! You are way too loud!”
I was doing nothing wrong, I just laughed too hard. My brother was not doing anything wrong either, he was just laughing at the situation. That smell made me remember and realize the consequences of my actions. It was not the first time that had happened between me and my brother. Moments of joy he had, taken away by an angry me. I was happy to reach the island that day, but my brother was not. He wanted to have fun, while I only cared about reaching my goal. That made me realize that I need to enjoy more things in life, and let others enjoy it as well. Now, every time I smell something sour and acid, I remember my brother and my selfish actions that led to him stop enjoying an activity.
We decided to rest for a moment, putting our backs on the kayak seats. My brother was the most tired of us both, putting all his weight into the seat. He unbalanced the kayak and we ended up falling into the water. We wore vests that floated on the water just in case something like this happened. The algae were complicating things since it wrapped all around our bodies. My brother just floated and laughed. I focused on getting into the boat again, and barely could flip the kayak since my arms were being stopped by the algae as well. The vests kept us floating, so it was not a serious problem. I was angry and yelled at my brother
“Help me pick up the boat”
He got scared and after that, he did help me to flip the boat. I helped him to get into the boat and then he helped me.
After the small accident, we kept rowing to the island. I rowed hard, while my brother rowed in a slower pace. This frustrated me, so I yelled at him again.
“Start rowing, you are so slow!”
He seemed sad and rowed faster. Around a minute of rowing, we finally had reached the island. I was happy that our goal was met and sat down to rest. My sister and cousin were already there, since they did not fall. We stayed there for around 10 minutes and left, since there was not much to do.
Now, months later I was in Bates talking to my cousin, when a sour and acid smell went into my nose. I did not know if it was the food or something else, but either way it helped me remember. That same day I got yelled at by a superior. This made me go back to the kayaks. I relived what I did to my brother. He was having fun with our fall, but I took it away when I screamed at him. Same thing had happened to me. I enjoyed a moment until it was taken away by a cadet that yelled at me.
“Lock it up! You are way too loud!”
I was doing nothing wrong, I just laughed too hard. My brother was not doing anything wrong either, he was just laughing at the situation. That smell made me remember and realize the consequences of my actions. It was not the first time that had happened between me and my brother. Moments of joy he had, taken away by an angry me. I was happy to reach the island that day, but my brother was not. He wanted to have fun, while I only cared about reaching my goal. That made me realize that I need to enjoy more things in life, and let others enjoy it as well. Now, every time I smell something sour and acid, I remember my brother and my selfish actions that led to him stop enjoying an activity.
Gabriel Rosas from Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. He went to New Mexico Military Institute as a sophomore. He got the Best New cadet award during his first semester, which led to him becoming a sergeant on his second semester. Cadet Rosas is currently a platoon sergeant in Lima troop.