Erika Luo - Week 1 - Lost
Have you ever been separated from your family as a child? I most certainly have. I recall once when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, my family and I went to Great America during summer vacation. As you can probably imagine, I got separated from my family by staring at something for too long. As a child, you have no way of communicating with your family outside of making face-to-face interactions with them. I didn’t have a phone at this time, so I certainly could not call them. I spent a good 30 minutes to an hour trying to search for my family by wandering around, hoping that I might magically find them. Unfortunately, this did not work. Eventually, I found an employee selling merchandise by the side of a ride. Being the awkward small child that I was, I just walked up to them and casually said, “Hi. I’m lost.”
The employee took me to a nearby shop where they called security to see if they could find my parents. While I sat there waiting for them to contact my parents, I began to scare myself by thinking that I might never see my family again. Maybe these people were going to kidnap me or take me to an orphanage if they couldn’t find my parents! (Give me a break, I was like 7). They did find my parents eventually; my family upon discovering that I was missing, immediately went to security to see if they saw me.
Looking back on this memory really makes me glad that I have my voice. Communication was really the key factor in me being able to find my family again. Without it, I probably would still be lost in Great America. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I didn’t have the courage to ask someone for help.
https://www.einvestigator.com/missing-persons-investigations/
Comments
I've also had a very similar experience to you before. I was in a museum with my mom and my sister, and when I turned around, they were gone. I went to the information desk and asked for help. Then my mom came out of the bathroom and I cried. I think it is interesting how we both went to get help. It shows that it is important to educate kids on what to do if they get lost. I also think it is important to ask for help. When I asked, I was really shy, but without it, like you said, I might have remained lost. Since we have the ability to communicate, we should use it as necessary and not let our fears get in the way.
Getting lost as a child was actually the most terrifying thing ever. Now, we have phones and are generally a lot more independent, so it doesn’t scare me as much (unless we’re someplace grand). I can recall one situation where I got lost in a Macy’s while running around with my brother. I got completely paranoid and just stood right where I realized I got lost and started yelling for my mom. Thankfully, my mother was frantically searching for me and eventually spotted me amongst the tall clothing racks. I’m still thankful I didn’t get kidnapped or something.
-Angel Susantin
I feel like getting lot was such a common thing for all of us children. We look off for a few seconds and all of a sudden, our parents are gone. I remember almost crying in a grocery store because my parents went into another shopping isle and I ended up just running around until I found them. Luckily, we have phones and if necessary, we can share our locations with friends and family members. I started doing that this year and I feel much safer going out, even though I am not a young young kid anymore.
I have been in the same exact situation as you and I still get scared when I don’t see my mom around me 😭. Like yea I have a phone, but more than being scared I will never see my parent again, it is the fact that my sob story will be that I lost track of my mom in a grocery store. Like bestie what… Anyways, this was extremely scary when I was little because I was more scared of my mom yelling at me than actually getting lost which doesn’t make any sense, but worked perfectly. Our voice is really important and it allows us to express our feelings.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee Sama
I indeed can relate that I got lost many times outside mostly from staring at something for too long or supervising my brother. I was always the dumber one and would find my parents hearing where their voice was coming from and mostly every time I would find them around the corner. Being a shy child at a young age, I never realized how asking for something could really give you a solid answer and I learned that as I got older. More then or likely someone nice would help but that also reminded me of that one scene in Shazam where in that case the mom abandoned the kid by purpose even though he went to security who were nice to try finding his mom. Sadly his mom decided not to claim him and walked away.
I have so many experiences with getting lost in a big mall or grocery store and get the same feeling of dread and panic each time. I learned through numerous experiences that eventually I would find my mom at the kitchen section of Macys or find her in the chips section of the grocery store (not to call her out). That feeling of being lost gets me every time though! I always try to remember the last time where I saw them and try to locate them. If they’re not there, then I start speed walking and scanning every person I pass by. What makes me annoyed is the fact that my mom is nonchalantly strolling and hasn’t even noticed that I wandered off.
Sincerely,
Faith Tong