Ryleigh Brown

Facing Fears

We were in the car on the way to CVS to buy the hair dye I had wanted for weeks. I was so excited that we were finally going to dye my hair! But my mom was being very suspicious on the car ride over. It wasn’t until we got to the parking lot and I saw the bright red signs that come out around fall each and every year. The signs that give children nightmares. The flu shot signs.  I imagined an evil doctor grabbing my arm and stabbing me with the needle. Tears had already started to come to my eye. But mom didn’t say anything about the flu shot signs, just parks the car and starts walking inside. Assuming she had totally forgotten I hadn’t gotten a flu shot yet, I calmed down and walked in behind her. Before I can even make it to the hair isle she says,

            “Hey! Lets’ just get your flu shot while we’re here. I turn to her with a look of horror and scream,

            “NO! PLEASE MOM NOT TODAY.”

            But she just grabbed my arm and pulled me with her to the pharmacy part in the back. AS soon as we started getting closer to the pharmacy area I smelled doctors’ offices and hand sanitizer. When we reach the check in counter I already had tears rolling down my cheeks and had started to hyperventilate. Mom ignored me and started filling out a flu shot form for me. But I could tell the nurses in the pharmacy were really judging me. Then she gave the nurse the form and the nurse said, “Please have a seat and you will be called shortly,” says the nurse at the check in counter. But I had a plan to get out of getting that shot.  I asked mom,

“Can I go to the bathroom before I get the shot?” She said,

            “Fine but hurry up the nurse will call you soon.” I bolted for the bathroom and locked the door. I stayed back there until mom came back and told me I had to come out and get the shot. But I wasn’t going to lose that easy. After we walked back out to the seating area, I silently turned down one of the isles and crouched down so no one could see my head over the isle. But before I had stood there for 2 seconds I hear the same I’ve heard a million times be for. “RYLEIGH! RYLEIGH! Stop being stupid and come get your flu shot so we can go home!”

            Eventually I came out of hiding because I felt guilty. I walked up to the pharmacy to see my very angry mother and a smiling man hold a shot in his hand.  I burst into tears and try to run away from them, only to be dragged back. The doctor’s gloves felt like fire when he grabbed my arm to give me the shot. While my mom held down my arm, the man gave me the stupid shot I never wanted to get. I started counting to ten, “One, Two, Three, Four...” But before I had counted any higher I was done getting the shot. “Wow I’m really sorry for freaking out so bad,” I said to the man who gave me the shot.      

            “I knew you could do it!” said mom.

“Oh it’s alright. Have a nice rest of your day,” said the man. Mom was laughing at me for acting like such a three year old. We then walked up to the front and I saw all the candy in the front and said,

“Mom you’re buying me a chocolate bar for making me get a shot right.” I said while whipping tears from my eyes.

“Oh fine! But someday you’re going to have to stop being so afraid of shots,” Mom replied. We walked out of the store and I was still trying clean up after freaking out and crying over a flu shot. That was when I realized that if I just face my fears I can do anything in life. Even if I am afraid of doing something if I take a deep breath and face it nothing can stop me.