Mistakes Lead to Strength

When I was fifteen years old, I had my first life-altering experience. For the longest time, I thanked the universe for granting me a fairly easy and prosperous life, as I had not yet experienced any form of a traumatic incident. As I recall, it was summertime, and my friends and I had been living each day free of worry and stress. Some of the faces I was used to seeing every day were preparing for new journeys to college; these were not easy “goodbye” conversations to have. As for myself, I was preparing for my junior year of high school and it felt good to finally be an upperclassman, knowing that the real world was just around the corner. Much of my friend group had already gotten their drivers licenses this summer, as well as their “new” used cars, and I had been going along for the rides.

As mentioned before, I had always lived a fairly easy life, and I was grateful for that; my family took care of me, they were well, and no trauma had been experienced. This was until, one rainy day that summer, my friend had been going nearly 80 miles per hour on the highway. She was texting, of course, because everyone knows how difficult it is for a teenager to stay off of their phone. I don’t remember a whole lot of the crash, but I do remember the absolute fear that took over when I looked out the driver’s side window to see a wall meeting the front of our car. We had experienced something called hydroplaning. This is when a paper-thin sheet of water is trapped under your two front tires, and you lose control of your vehicle. To try to regain control, our driver had taken the steering wheel and tried to switch out of the lane so that we wouldn’t be in other divers’ way, by she was so scared that she turned the wheel too fast and run into the side wall. I woke up in the ambulance, and of course the EMT’s wanted to know, had we been drinking? Had we been smoking marijuana? The answer was no—it happened because of sheer negligence and lack of education.

I ended up having four broken ribs, a shattered ankle, some hemorrhaging in my brain, and a lasting fear of sitting in the front seat. Despite this, I managed to maintain my positivity, and while sitting at home in recovery, I was still able to complete my assignments. Graduating high school on time with a diploma, an associates degree, and a business certification was my main motivation in maintaining my strength. I truly believe that the accident was an eye-opening experience for everyone involved, as it showed us how fragile life really is. It also showed us the importance of driving without a phone in our hands.

My friends and I were honestly very lucky to have survived this major accident. If not for the car accident that I was involved in, I would not be so strong. While the experience was ever-so traumatic at the time, there were lessons given that I deeply appreciate. There are things now that I don’t take for granted, such as waking for another day, or being able to play softball in the spring, or seeing my friends at school, because you never know when your last day on earth might be. I am almost eight years old now and I still think and dream about that traumatic day. I have fully recovered from all of my past injuries and am back to one hundred percent mobility. I try to educate the underclassman at my school and family about car safety and how important it is to wear your seatbelts and learn how to handle car situations such as the one I was in. I still get nervous when I sit in the front seat, and I pay way more attention to the road even if I am in the passenger seat. I refuse to ride in the car with anyone if they are on their phones for my safety and others. This experience was the worst thing that has ever happened to me, and I don’t wish thins on anyone, but I do hope that everyone stops taking the beauty of life and all of its simplicity for granted because once it is gone you may never get it back. I was fortunate enough to live my life again, but it could have ended very differently.