Scottsdale, Arizona has always been my favorite place to vacation during the winter. However, one year, when I was nine, eating lunch at a local restaurant ended up ruining my trip and leaving me with bad memories. That year my family flew to Scottsdale the day after Christmas. I was really excited because we were planning to go shopping at a huge mall a few days after arriving. I packed the gift cards and fifty dollars I received the day before in my new, blue, trendy purse with a “K” on it that was also a Christmas gift. We decided we would eat lunch and play games at a local Chuck E Cheese the following day. Before going to bed I set my new purse filled with items 9-year-olds find necessary, my gift cards, and my fifty dollars right by the front door so it would be ready to go in the morning.

I woke up early the next day, ate breakfast right away and got dressed. I was all ready to go so I took a seat on the couch and waited for what seemed like a year for everyone else to get ready. Finally, my dad, mom, and sister were ready to go. I threw my new purse over my shoulder like a grown-up and got in the car without a care in the world. I was finally headed to Chuck E Cheese.

When we got there, we were seated and ordered our pizza. My dad gave me some money for tokens, which meant I didn’t have to spend my own money right away. We got our pizza, and I scarfed mine down, ready to explore Chuck E Cheese. I left the booth and threw my purse into the corner. My sister ran for her favorite game, skeeter ball, so I followed her. She got more tickets than me after the first game and I was determined to do better than her. We ran around Chuck E Cheese, competing against each other. My parents felt we were too young to wander alone so my dad gave me tips to beat my sister and my mom held our winning tickets. I think within a few hours we had played every game several times.

By then, I was exhausted and ready to cash in my tickets. I ran to my mom to claim the tickets she was holding. I was so excited to be able to pick from so many prizes that today would mean nothing, but meant the world to me then. I went back to the booth to get my new purse so we could go back to the condo to swim. The table had been cleaned, and I noticed my purse was unzipped. I looked inside the purse and noticed my fifty dollars and gift cards were gone. I ran to my parents in tears. They couldn’t believe what had happened either. It turns out people even steal from sweet, little children to get some money!

As a 9-year-old, I learned to never again leave anything valuable unattended. To this day, when I am with my mom she still asks where my purse is before leaving any public place. I don’t put gift cards in my purse unless I know for sure that I am going to that store and I only carry a limited amount of cash. What I thought was going to be one of the best vacations ever ended up being one of the worst because of one rotten mistake. If I had not had money stolen the first time I carried a purse in public, I might not have learned such a valuable life lesson that has probably saved me a lot more in the long run as I have grown older.