A Lesson I Learned

A Lesson I Learned

I got my license about five months after I turned 16. I was so excited about all of the new adventures, experiences, and events that I would get to do with the luxury of having my license. I was not one of those kids that got their car the day they turned 16; it was a little bit harder for me. It took me this long to get my license because my mom absolutely refused to help me study or take the test like many of my friend’s mothers did for them. She was adamant that I would know the rules of the road. Even after studying and getting a near perfect score on my exam I still made a huge mistake. Let me tell you my story.

My family and I are not very wealthy, so it took some time for me to save up enough money to put a down payment on my car. I have a 2014 used Ford escape. The day I got my car, I was so excited I was driving around all by myself, living it up. I had been driving by myself for about three months, and I was fully confident. Until one day, I almost killed somebody. I was on my way to get my nails done with my sister in the passengers’ seat and my mom following me. I came upon a cross walk that had pedestrian signs indicating to watch for people who wanted to cross the road. Thinking back to it now, I crossed that road at least five times a week, and I should’ve noticed it. While I was driving, I saw this car stop right in the middle of the road. I was wondering what was he doing, I was baffled, but I kept trucking on in my car. I soon understood why. Out of nowhere, I saw this elderly man walking his bike across the street. When I realized this, I was about 20 feet from him, and there was no time to stop. I was lucky. No, I wasn’t lucky I was blessed by God to have maneuvered my car between the SUV on the right and the pedestrian on the left without causing an accident or injuries to anyone in that situation. I was so shaken up by this I had to pull over. My whole body was shaking and I was crying uncontrollably. My mom saw the whole thing. She stopped and calmed me down. I learned a lesson very quickly about how dangerous driving can be and why my mom always insisted on me learning all I could.

It’s not just this fun thing that takes you everywhere; you are always in danger when you’re driving. Even if you are a safe driver, it doesn’t mean everybody around you is. I’ve learned to be very vigilant and very, very careful while driving. I will never make the mistake of taking driving for granted again.