Responsibility

Responsibility

Sometimes I like to be responsible. It’s fun because you get to do more and people trust you. And I like the feeling of responsibility because I feel older and more grownup. Sometimes I don’t like responsibility because I feel people expect more of me and it makes me I wish I was younger. But when I get the chance to be responsible I enjoy it.

When I got off the camp bus it was really chaotic. It was really noisy and crowded so I didn’t know what to do. I looked for my friend, Sophia, who I had ridden on the bus with, but she was nowhere to be found. I guessed I was supposed to go to the groups with counselors and kids holding up decorated signs that read, Bunk #23, or, Bunk #52. Then I heard a counselor shouting “If you don’t know your bunk number come here!” I grabbed my Danbee backpack and walked over to her. She was carrying a clipboard and was still shouting. Then she noticed me and asked for my name. When I told her she looked at her clipboard and told me, “You’re in bunk 38.” I looked for the decorated bunk 38 sign.. I looked around when all of a sudden I felt someone jump on top of me. I turned to see my friend Chloe smiling at me. The only people I knew there was Sophia, Chloe and Sammy. Sammy was Chloe’s twin sister. The reason we knew each other was because before camp our parents arranged for us to meet before camp so we would at least know somebody so we had a playdate at my house. I saw Sophia talking with Sammy and another girl with dirty blonde hair and braces. Then two counselors walked up to me. One of them was short with very long brown hair and freckles. The other one was tall with pale skin and blonde hair put up in a messy but tight bun. “Are you in bunk 38?” the one with the long brown hair asked. “Yes.” I said. “I’m  Julia.” I’m Jenny.” she said. “And I’m Marisol.” The other one said. We had to wait for some other girls and when they came we went for lice check and then the bunk. The other girls names were Gaby, Adriana, Aerin and Samantha (but we sometimes called her Sammy even though it got confusing because of the other Sammy) Also Gaby was from the Dominican Republic and was very tall for her age. Adriana was from spain and was fairly short and she had shortish brown hair. Aerin was the dirty blonde haired girl with braces and she was from new york like me. Samantha had wavy long hair which was some color between brown and blonde. Camp was awesome. One time we went on a field trip to a huge carnival and water park. It had soda machines that gave away free soda everywhere and there was a huge park but most of the stuff dumped or sprayed water on you. And at the very top in the center there was a huge bucket that would get filled and every time it was full it would pour all over us. If you’re wondering what this has to do with responsibility well we were allowed to wander off on our own a little bit and they each gave us $10 to spend in whatever way we wanted.Everyday we went to the lake and everyday we did something else. Sometimes it was canoeing or paddle boarding or fishing or waterskiing and more. I felt responsible because a lot of the activities they would let us do ourselves. Like when we would fish and canoe by ourselves. And another reason I felt responsible was I didn’t get homesick at all. Well I did get a little homesick but not homesick like the girls in my bunk who would cry the whole night. And we had a lot more freedom like we would walk every where by ourselves.

Something that makes me feel responsible is thinking about the time my family and I first got my dog Zelda. We had to prepare so we got a crate, bowls, toys, food, leashes and more. The drive to the place where we were picking her up was really long. I was so excited the whole car ride that I didn’t even think about how long it was. Soon we were in the country and we had to look for the place. When we finally found it we pulled up in the driveway. I saw a big house with a staircase leading up towards the door. At the door I saw a woman holding a small black dog with curly fur. My dad went up the stairs first and I followed. We went through the door and I went inside seeing a normal living room except that a round fence like thing was in the center. The bottom was filled with newspaper and I noticed a bunch of small squeaky toys. Inside was another small black puppy that looked similar to the one the woman was holding. The woman handed the puppy in her hands to my dad and we all took turns to hold her. When we each held her she squirmed a little and she looked nervous but she seemed to relax later. She asked us if we had a name in mind and we told her we were going to call her Zelda. We used a z in the name because our last dog was named Zoe. I don’t really remember Zoe that much because she died when I was a baby but from what I have heard about her she seems great. We talked to the woman and when we asked who the puppy in the fence was and she said it was Zelda’s brother and that he might be lonely without anyone to play with but we shouldn’t worry because someone would be picking him up on tuesday. She told us that the day you get a dog, is probably the worst day of the dog’s life because they’re going on a long car ride, they’re losing everything familiar and they’re with people they don’t know. Then she gave my parents some papers which they had to sign. Before we left she let us choose a toy for Zelda so she could have something that smelled like home. We chose a purple monkey that squeaks. We carried her to the car and put her in between me and Tate on a blanket in case she threw up. We said goodbye and drove away. On the way home we stopped at a gas station. I was just about to go to the bathroom when I saw Zelda throw up. “Daddy!” I said. “Zelda just threw up!” So we got paper towels and cleaned it up. Soon we opened the door to our apartment and showed Zelda her new home. We had a crate, her bowls and toys in the kitchen. We also had a wee-wee pad (where she’s supposed to pee) with newspaper on it because she was used to going on that. She walked around the kitchen nervously while we tried to get her to drink some water. Then I called my best friend Ava and told her we were home with Zelda. And she wanted to see her as soon as possible so she decided to come right at that moment. You might think it’s a big deal that she came over just to see my new dog but she lives almost right across the street from us. When she came over Zelda was nervous at first but soon she got used to her. The next day I could barely think about anything else. I was so excited. Zelda is excited all the time and she is always there to greet me when I come home. Sometimes to get attention she’ll steal something of ours and try to get us to chase her around the dining room table. Not long after we got her, she didn’t use the wee-wee pad anymore. Now we have a dog walker on weekday mornings and my parents walk her at night. My job is to walk her on the morning on weekends. I put out her food and if she’s really hungry she’ll eat but if she dosen’t want to then she’ll edge towards the door so I’ll put her leash on. I feel really responsible and proud my parents trust me to walk her and look after her.

Reflection

I like responsibility because I like to be trusted and you benefit from it. Responsibility is part of growing up. As you get older you get more responsibility.For example, when I was little I couldn’t do anything by myself but one day I will have to do everything by myself. When you are grown up you are responsible and if you aren’t responsible you aren’t grown up.