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When I was 4 years old my '12-year-old brother wanted to practice his baseball pitch, so asked me to go to the front yard in front of the brick wall so that the rubber ball that he used would bounce back if I missed. The thing is I don't know why perhaps genetics from both of my parents being left handed but I throw right and bat left. Before we began I told my brother that we should go to the other side of the house because if I were to make contact with the ball, me swinging left would cause the ball to hit the house. My brother said, "don't worry, you're not going to hit it."

And so we began, me at bat and my brother as the pitcher. He threw it 4 times and I missed hitting every time because of how fast it was. Remember I was only four years old and my brother is seven years older than me. Back to the story. I got increasingly frustrated that I couldn't hit it so on the fifth pitch my brother said "here you go you big baby." And very softly underhand tossed the ball. His words angered me and I snapped. I hit the ball as hard as I could straight into my large bedroom window shattering it. What came next I will never forget. My mother ran outside asking, well yelling "what happened" My bother pinned it solely on me and so I was grabbed on the arm and dragged inside where I was placed on the edge of the couch and was hit ten times by my mother. I remember ten because each hit hurt so much. Then of course I screamed and cried and plead to her it wasn't my fault but she wouldn't listen and my brother let it all happen to me.

I didn't hate my brother for it, I just didn't understand why I was being hit for listening to my brother's instructions. He walked away Scott free while I was punished. Any recreation was taken away from me by my mother and she sent me into solitary confinement in my room, where I was to lay in bed and make no sounds. I cried not because of the pain itself, although my mother hit me very hard, it was the actions of my brother and him essentially telling me, manipulated my four year old emotions for his own fun, just to watch me be hurt.