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I just finished riding the new attraction at Universal Studios, the Harry Potter ride. The exit to the ride leads straight to the gift shop filled with all different types of Harry Potter apparel. As I wander through the shop, my friend’ request echoed in my conscience. After 5 minutes, I walk out to meet back with my family. My sister then asks if we could all stop and check out the Harry Potter themed candy shop. Excitingly, I went with her as I was always intrigued by the magical candy they portrayed in the Harry Potter movies. The shop had chocolate wands, jelly bean flies, caramel apples, and best of all chocolate frogs. Another five minutes of browsing through the shop, her and I walk out. As we approached our family our family who was waiting on us, I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to a badge in my face. The person who tapped on my shoulder was an undercover cop disguised as an everyday tourist.
The request that my friend asked of me was to “swipe me a pin”. Today, “swipe” is used by some in place of “steal”. Right after riding the Harry Potter ride, I “swiped” a pin from the gift shop. My friend was big collector when it came to pins and we have had a past of stealing minor objects at class field trips together so I thought stealing a pin wouldn’t be a big deal. It wasn’t. After I stole that pin from that gift shop I also stole a chocolate frog from the candy shop. It turns out this undercover cop seen me steal the pin and followed me to the candy shop to see if I would steal again. If I didn’t steal again he would have let me go over a pin, but I didn’t. Since I stole another item he found it then necessary to intervene. The cop debriefed my family of what just happened as I put my head down, scared to make eye contact with my family and see their faces. My dad then went with me and the cop down to the detainment center at Universal. They went over the crime I committed and the repercussions it came with. The whole time my dad looked at me in anger and disappointment trying to apologize to the cop, telling him he didn’t raise me to be like this and that really hurt me.
Theft itself is immoral and wrong. I felt I deserved the punishment Universal Studios gave me of a $400 fine for theft. What was worse than the punishment though was the disappointment in my grandma and parents’ faces. Walking to my family with this cop was one of the most nerve wracking and frightening moments of my life. I didn’t want them to find out what I had done because I knew they would be devastated that the child they raised was a thief. It really hit me when I disappointed my family. They shook their head, sighed, and looked at me differently. This guilt was different. I suddenly put myself in their shoes. The baby they gave birth to, nurtured for, taught, and loved has grown into a thief. I completely changed the image of myself and lost the trust of my family members. Making your parents think they raised you wrong and that it’ their fault was agonizing. It wasn’t their fault, it was mine. They raised me the right way, taught me right from wrong, and always provided for everything I needed. I wanted them to know how sincerely sorry I was and that it wasn’t their fault but was just a dumb decision made by me.
Looking back at that time in my life, not only did it teach me never to steal again but that everything you do comes with a consequence. Either positive or negative, your choices affect you and your surroundings. From this experience, it changed how I now go about things. “Think before you act” is now a saying that I truly live by. I learned that my actions not only affect me but affect the ones I love most. When I fall down, my family falls down with me but when I excel, my family is right there with me proud as can be. It made me realize what I want to continue to do and that’ to never make my family feel like that again and for them to feel that they did a excellent job in raising me as I continue to grow and be the best man I can be, inside and out.