Driving safely is a topic that should not be taken so lightly. I believe that too many people just brush the topic over, and I can be honest with myself and admit that I used to be one of those people. But after an experience that I will never forget for the rest of my life, I cannot stress enough how important driving safely really is because not only can you put yourself in danger, but you can put other peoples lives at risk as well. But to explain why I feel this way so much, I want to share my story about what had happened on December 26, 2023. On this particular day, my mom had asked me to go to the store for her, so I was headed there. I remember exactly how it went down like it was yesterday. I was on my phone distracted without a care in the world, but when I had looked up, I saw myself swerving off the road. I tried to turn the wheel quickly to get back on it, but on this day, it had just rained. I spun the wheel too quickly and I lost control of the vehicle I was in and ended up running through a brick post and crashing into a tree. The car was completely totaled. After getting out of the car, I could genuinely feel myself shaking and the very first thought I had was, “How am I alive?”. The crash was so devastating that doctors questioned how my body was still in one piece after it had happened. I was so thankful for my life and not only did I come out with my life, but I came out of the crash unscathed and without a scratch on my body. After this incident, a lot of things would change in my life. I was now untrusted and unable to drive for a period of time, my family’s insurance had shot up ten-fold, and I was putting my parents under immense pressure. At the time of the event, I was driving my mom’s car instead of mine, so that was the car that had been totaled. Since this was the case, my mom now had to use my car which was much smaller and cramped to go to work. Everyday before work she had to drop off my younger brother and my younger sister to daycare in a car which was much more tight-spaced. Since I was no longer able to drive, my mom would have to drop me off at school as well as drive me to work whenever I was scheduled. I was putting a lot of extra weight on my parents financially, as well as physically exhausting my mom in the process because of all the things that changed in our life after the accident. Even when they would tell me to not worry about it and that things would be fine, I could not help but feel an absurd amount of guilt for putting them in this predicament. My view on driving had shifted majorly and I even felt myself a little scared to drive for some time after this crash had happened. On a road that I had driven on a million times, an unforgettable event occurred and I changed my life in a matter of seconds. Everything happens so quickly and at the time you would never expect it to happen. The thought of me getting into a car accident never even crossed my mind when I was leaving my house to get those groceries, but it happened. Everything happens for a reason, but at the end of the day, I still have my life which is the most important thing. So, anytime I can educate others on how important driving safely really is, without a second thought, I will tell them my story. A lesson I can take from this is a quote that my aunt had told me after the fact. She said to me, “Never think it can’t happen to you”. This applies to both good things and bad things, but in this circumstance, it was bad. I've learned my lesson, and I can't advocate enough to people that they should put the phone down and focus on the road. I experienced this first-hand and if possible, I want many to not have to go through what I went through. It all happens so quickly, and I will tell people this every time, it is better to rather be safe than sorry.