Name: Christina Srey
From: Nashville, Tennessee
Votes: 0
My
name is Christina Srey. I am 18 years old and I am a Communications
major at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I first started
driving when I was 16 years old after I had passed the permit test.
My father had taken me to a cemetery because he said it would be
“easier.” He also made me drive his huge 2004 pickup truck
because that is also “easier.” Though this sounds kinda crazy, I
feel like everyone should learn this way.
When
you’re driving on a regular road or a back road, you’re like,
“Okay nobody’s here” or “Okay I’ll stay in my lane.” When
driving in a CEMETERY with a huge pickup truck, you have no choice
but to be careful. I was more attentive and very afraid. Even though
I was afraid, I did way better than when I did when I was driving on
an actual road. With the constant fear of running graves over, it
causes your attention to go straight to the road and stay only on the
road. That’s how I learned basic
driving.
As
I got older, I thought I was the best driver out there. So I started
trying out texting and driving. (Don’t ever do this, ever). I
thought I was the bee’s knees. Anyone can teach you how to drive,
but nobody can teach a teen how to stay off their phone. It’s
honestly inevitable if you ask me. BUT even though this sounds very
terrible, I think I learned from texting and driving. One day I was
driving home after work and I received a text from my boyfriend. I
was just going to respond “OK.” No biggie right? WRONG. I was
turning a curb and apparently, I was going way over the speed limit.
The car had tipped over almost flipping over. I thank God that I was
safe that night. Not only teens, but people fail to realize that
anything can happen in life. My life had flashed before my eyes. Ever
since then, I never texted and drove.
Now
I know this sounds like a regular texting and driving story, but I
wish I could scream from the rooftops “DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE!”
Even if it’s just an “ok” or “lol” no message is worth a
life. Yes I know that your mother and drivers ed teacher can
preach this to you religiously 24/7 but someone won’t realize it
until it actually happens. Car accidents are one of the leading
deaths in the youth today, and a text message is not worth a life.
Tweet that.
