My Mother's Lessons, My Revenge

My mother always said that people don't learn from being told; they learn instantly from experience.

When I was little, I reached for a kettle of boiling water, and she just stood by and watched coldly. I screamed and cried when I got burned.

"Good, it hurts," she said. "If it doesn't hurt, you won't remember."

I didn't know how to read traffic lights, and she didn't warn me; instead, she urged me to walk faster.

I got hit by an electric scooter and was thrown flying, needing seven stitches.

But she told me, "Getting hit once will teach you a lesson for life. It's a good thing."