Essay Prompt: Tell us a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
NOTE: Any feedback concerning the introduction, flow of the essay, and conclusion would be greatly appreciated. Also, any awkward sentences that can be pointed out would help as well.
The Sound of Change
As odd as it sounds, the sound of coins falling and hitting the floor sends my mind into endless thoughts of a memory from when I was younger. Coins, or change, are associated with wealth, happiness, and power. However, coins resemble the opposite to me. I am reminded of a moment where I displayed inconsiderate behavior, embarrassment, and shame that I still have to this day.
I was young. Between the ages of three and four, and my mother and I had spent the whole day at the mall. One of my favorite things to do while out shopping was to look for pennies on the ground and collect them. I would not make it a priority to look in front of me while I was walking, but instead, keep my eyes glued to the ground and desperately search for a dropped penny. Occasionally, I would bump into another mall shopper and receive the same lecture from my mom, "Watch where you're going Hanna! You're going to make someone very mad one of these times, and you might get hurt!" Every one of these lectures were heard, but never processed in my young head.
I remember the shirt I was wearing. It was a white t-shirt with a neon pink and yellow design on it. The t-shirt was longer, so it covered my denim shorts that I was wearing. I was holding my mom's hand and searching for pennies when I heard it. The clinking of copper cascading out of some unlucky person's coin purse and hitting the ground, all occurring in a 5 second time interval. My ears perked up and my eyes scanned the ground for the proof of what I had just heard. In no time, I found the scene. My hand instinctively grabbed each penny with a fast movement until my hand was full of clutched pennies. With this new record of pennies found in one area, I jumped back onto my feet with a huge smile on my face. My smiling face was met with a family of three: the mom, dad, and young boy. I ran back to my mom and grabbed her hand as I dragged her along before the family could recollect their lost change. In my ear, I heard my mom whispering to me to go and give the change back to the boy. I couldn't. I had just found a jackpot of pennies and I was not about to return them. My enthusiasm for collecting all of those pennies would have been wasted. Instead, I opened my hand that was clutching the pennies and dropped them all to the floor. The sound tore my eardrums. Each penny clanked against the tile floor of the Tacoma Mall, and I continued to walk with my hand stretched wide. I glanced at the family of three as I walked away from the scene, and their faces still haunt me. The mother and father were both standing behind their son with their mouths gaping open. The look of shock and disgust were in their eyes, and the boy just stared at me. He stared right through my young self, and the feeling of hurt was apparent in his eyes.
I didn't stop to pick up all of the coins, nor did my mother make me. We just kept walking. I walked with my hand stretched wide, hoping to somehow convince them that I no longer had the coins in my possession. It did not occur to me until later that what I had done was rude and inconsiderate. This memory constantly reminds me of how to think of others while going through my day. I look back and feel embarrassed for not giving all of the pennies to the boy after I had picked them up. I also feel shame for it. I know I was young, but my mother was not. She could have forced me to go and give them back, or at least apologize to the family. Instead, she kept walking with me. We both acted like children, except I was a child. This memory also taught me to be responsible for my actions. Now, the sound of coins dropping leads me to a place that reminds me to be considerate and always think of others. I will never forget this moment, and I am glad that it happened because consideration is a rare trait to have these days.
