Mulberry

The city of Mulberry is a small one, and not many are aware of its existence outside of the people who reside within. Located between the two major cities of Tampa and Orlando, it’s easily overlooked by those just passing through. There truly isn’t much about the city for it to attract tourists, but it’s one of those small towns where everyone knows just about everyone. There’s one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. I became part of the city of Mulberry when I started middle school there. The people you meet in middle school there are the ones you graduate from high school with. We grew up together and saw one another transition from the awkward pre-teen phase into our own unique selves. It’s one of those towns where you can truthfully say we’re all a family.

Sophomore year can be exciting for all students as they’re reaching the age where they can drive independently. This stage in our life was a huge step into adulthood, though we were years away from that. We would invite our friends to hang out after school just to drive around, we never had anywhere specific in mind, we were just driving for the sole purpose of driving. Getting caught up in the excitement of this newfound freedom often blinded us to the real-world consequences of driving. In mulberry, we didn’t get to experience too much of this blissful excitement like many other sophomores across the country. My freshman year was ending and the graduation ceremony was approaching rapidly for the seniors. The night of graduation, within hours of the ceremony, everybody began posting on social media. Two of our own students had died in a car accident along with another student from a nearby high school. The car driven by the students failed to stop at a red light and proceeded through where they collided with another vehicle. None of us had experienced anything like this before. They were children, they were one of us and they were taken away in an instant. It was hard to wrap my mind around, honestly. The city of Mulberry began to mourn the students we lost and provide their families with all the support the city had to offer. We will never forget that night or the students we lost.

A year and a half go by since that night. We remember the students and have been doing our best to support one another. Now being in my junior year of high school, I had been driving for long enough where I understood the responsibility I have on the road as a driver. My peers and I began to outgrow the phase in life where driving is new and something to play around with. I got my first job and worked weekends and occasionally nights after school. It was early on a Saturday morning and I was at work, it was slow so there wasn’t much to do at the time. I checked my social media and time stood still. My heart dropped, my hands began to tremble, and there was so much running through my mind that I had no idea where to start feeling any emotions. I thought people were posting some sick joke. My classmate had died just hours ago and an older student was in a coma. They were involved in a car accident. Their car failed to stop and collided into the back of a semi-truck. My classmate died instantly, and the older student who was in a coma ended up dying days later. Both students played football and were well known on campus. Their deaths impacted the community more than anyone could have anticipated. We mourned together yet again as a family, and we all let our guards down and became vulnerable. There were so many people in attendance at their funerals that some people had to wait outside the building. The students we lost in both incidents have never been forgotten, they were honored at graduation and continue to live on in our memories. We will never let them be forgotten and will forever speak their names and the memories they made in our lives.

Dealing with an event like death on more than one occasion at a young age truly impacts ones mentality and view of the world. There are some things that can be taught and preached about, but it doesn’t click until you’re affected by it personally. It’s as if you never think it will happen to you until it does. You’re forced to acknowledge it. As a teenager, you rarely take drivers education seriously. This ignorance can carry on into adulthood where it becomes more important than ever. The number of deaths related to driving would dramatically decrease if everyone took drivers’ education seriously and applied it every time they get in their car. Recognizing that you may be ignorant of drivers’ education is important, it’s never too late to change your mindset and drive smart. Nobody’s perfect, and that’s why recognizing your weaknesses when it comes to driving is so important. I know my own weakness when driving is speeding. Though I never speed by a large amount, I tend to not pay much attention to how fast I’m going. The consequences of speeding are deadly, and I work on this every time I drive. I’ve gotten much better at being mindful of the speed I’m going. If everyone were more mindful of posted speed limits and traffic signals, the number of car accidents would sharply decline. Though it’s impossible to preach this message to all drivers, and even harder to get them to obey, we can all do our part in creating safer roads. Practicing safe driving, acknowledging traffic signals, speed limits, and being knowledgeable of how to treat unpredictable events we may encounter while driving is all essential to getting to our destinations safe and alive.