This I Believe Essay

Family Over Everything
Have you ever wondered who would be there for you if something tragic happened? When something bad happens to you, you think all of your friends are going to be there right next to you. I unfortunetaly learned the hard way that is not the case. I did learn that my family will be there no matter what happens in my life. Parents are there to put food on the table, take care of the kids, and make sure they are doing the best they can for their child/children. I believe that family loves you no matter what: if you mess up, get injured, basically anything that happens to you, you can go to your family for help. On January 16th 2011, I was with my two brothers, Kasey and Brandon, and my sister-in-law, Alina at Wintergreen on an exciting snowboarding trip. We got there around 9A.M. and got right on the slopes. I absolutely love snowboarding and would never give it up for anything. About 5P.M. that night, my brothers and I were in the terrain park going off jumps, grinding, doing tricks, all that good stuff. The weather was very cold, and the slopes were pretty icy, but hey, what could be the worst thing that can happen? Maybe it could be a fall right on my butt, or a crazy wipe-out that could have given everyone a good laugh. Unfortunately it was neither of those. My brothers and I were playing follow the leader, they decided to dodge this jump, little did I know it was the biggest jump on the terrain park. I was going full speed and went off the jump, and then it hit me. I fell right on my back, before I knew it I was in the hospital with a broken back. The pain was absolutely excruciating. I ended up breaking my L1, luckily I was still able to walk, but I had to take it easy. I remember waking up in the hospital bed, with doctors and nurses all around me asking me to move my feet. Luckily I could do it. I still remember the feeling, if I could describe it trust me, I would. It just hurt extremely bad. The first hospital I ended up going too sent me home at about 11PM that night saying I was okay, and that it was just a little fracture. I remember crying trying to walk out of the hospital, I felt like daggers were just being shoved into my lower back. About 1AM that early morning my brother got a phone call from the hospital saying they mis-read the x-rays and that I needed to come back as soon as possible. I got woken up, and we went straight to the hospital. I ended up getting transferred to UVA hospital and that’s when we go the news of my back being broken. I was in the hospital for about a week, went into surgery, luckily I could still feel my legs. For about three months I was out of school. A teacher came to my house and taught me everything I needed to know every day until I could go back to school. It sucked not going to school. I rarely saw my friends, unless they came to see me. My parents literally did everything and anything they could to make sure I was okay. I do not like being pampered at all. I am the type of person that likes to do things myself, so my parents doing things for me was different. It was like breakfast in bed, bring anything to me type of situation. I was going crazy being home all the time. My parents tried to make the best of it for me. My “friends” would come visit me every once in a while, but not as much as I would have hoped for. All those phone calls about hanging out, and going out to eat, anything, they were all gone. I only did things with my family. I didn’t get it, one accident causes all of your friends to just disappear. This showed me that parents are really there for you no matter what. I felt so bad for what had happened, I thought my parents had no life what so ever because they just were with me all the time. I felt helpless; I just wanted to be back to normal again. No matter what situation they were always there to motivate me and tell me everything will be okay. Their motivation helped me get up and start walking again, no matter how bad it hurt, I did it. My parents always knew how to cheer me up. I am not going to lie, I went through a little depression in that time period. I felt like all I could do was sit, and lay down. All those hospital trips and x-rays killed me. Every time I walked into UVA hospital I was dreading to hear the news. I did not know if I was getting better or worse. It was a good thing my parents were there, because I know I would not have made it back to my normal self without them. I believe that family will always be there. “Family over everything” is definitely is my favorite quote. They showed me that if I put my mind to it, I can accomplish anything I want. They are always there to encourage me, if it is school, an accident, or even a problem I am having with a friend, they know how to make it better. They showed me if I put my mind to something I WILL be able to do it.