“You Won’t”

The occasional “you won’t” dare goes a long way in defining what kind of morals a person has. Speaking from the perspective of a teenage male these two words have shaped me and my friend group over the course of my life. The definition of “you won’t” means exactly what it looks like and is meant to get whoever you’re with to do something that they don’t have the original courage to do otherwise. Every once in awhile there is the uncommon refusal of the dare and by that point the person who turned it down has been stripped of his masculinity and dignity. There are two crucial rules that come alongside “You won’t”, it can’t be used often, and it can’t put anyones life in danger. Remorsefully, the second rule was broken many times.

It was the summer of ‘15, I had my first job and everything was going great. Me and my friends all got jobs at Haverhill Country Club and nothing could’ve been better. My friend Matt was originally left out, but I talked my boss into giving him a job. Matt wasn’t dealt the best hand in life by any means so this job meant a lot to him. He worked harder than every other employee Haverhill had so he fit in well. Matt and I were finally scheduled to work together which meant I could sit back and relax as I enjoyed watching Matt do all the work. As the day finally came, my plan went accordingly until I got bored sitting down all day.

Every once in awhile you mess up so bad you regret your existence for that day. Well, June 28, 2015 was indeed that day. Matt and I were just starting to close up shop and we went out on the golf course to drive in any extra carts. Then comes the fourteenth hole, out of site from the clubhouse, and a prime location to make a dumb mistake. As Matt got out of the cart I said the famous two words followed by four words that I would have given anything to take back. “You won’t drift on the green” I said to Matt as I looked around making sure no one was around. Matt had an overconfident look on his face that just showed he was destined for a disastrous ending.

As Matt drove his way onto the fringe of the green, I had my snapchat out to capture this moment. He began to pick up speed and started doing donuts around the pin. I was so caught up on how great this video would look on my snap story I failed to realize how the cart was tearing up the grass. I yelled at Matt to stop, but it was too late. As we got back to the clubhouse we were met with a rude awakening from our boss. He asked what happen and I refused to take any responsibility. Matt told my boss that it was my fault and I said I didn’t make him do anything. Matt went on to be fired after two weeks of work and was faced with an expensive bill to repair the greens he had ruined. He asked me if I wanted to chip in for the cost but by no means did I do that because than that would be taking responsibility for someone else’s actions.

This effected my whole summer, and since Matt and I ruined the green it affected every member at the club who wanted to play. As the days went by of me having to watch golfers skip hole fourteen I could no stop thinking about how much went wrong in such little time. Filled with guilt, I apologized to Matt after I thought about what transpired that day. Matt cussed me out multiple times and to this day we are no longer friends. The ripple effect this measly event had made me realize that I have to be more careful in the way I live. This is not the only “You Won’t” incident I have but as I reflect on the others I realize how lucky I am to be alive and well today. I’ve been in car accidents that my parents don’t even know about for that little sense of joy and freedom that rushes through you veins in the prior seconds before anything goes wrong. Nevertheless, those actions taught me valuable lessons on safety but those lessons would be overridden by the urge to step out of your comfort zone following two simple words, “you won’t”.