Truth Bomb

It was about the time I was in third grade when a foster brother of mine showed me a collection of rusty washers and nuts that he had put on a bolt and announced to me that he had created a bomb. My awe and curiosity were stronger than my fear, and I begged him to show me how he was able to do this. I realized that he was not able to create a bomb using old rusty metal he found on an unused piece of farm equipment, but it took me a while to know this; it was several months. 

My foster brother was almost five years older than me and I wanted to believe that he had these amazing powers that I would be able to learn. It never crossed my mind that day or weeks later that this guy would be telling me a complete lie. I trusted him, and it wasn’t until his many other lies were exposed that I remembered our time with the rusty metal bombs. That realization didn’t cause me to want to exploit the power of a lie; it taught me to be careful with the trust I had in others as well as the trust others put in me.

I don’t remember all the things my foster brother and I did together on the farm, but this is a moment I vividly remember and it has shaped me. What are the stories that have shaped you?