As I'm sure anyone can tell you, nobody should ever drive under the influence. Now this being an essay regarding my college career, many teens and young adults have the mindset of “it was just one drink, or just a few drinks, i’ll be okay to drive.” This is probably one of the most dangerous mindsets anyone can have. The situations this mindset can get you in, are some of the most terrifying and traumatic things someone can go through. Not just a little “fender bender.” That is what it can start out with, next thing you know you’re passed out in your front seat of your truck, strung out on heroin, in the middle of some innocent man’s roof. This was about 3 or 4 years ago. I don’t remember exactly how old I was. But I do remember sobbing on his bed when I found out why he hadn’t come home for dinner. I made everyone wait to eat until he got home. I remember walking through the front wooden door to my grandmother’s house, to see my father sitting in the plastic chair right outside the door. At this point we had been waiting for at least two hours. My grandmother came outside to join us. I remember my dad scrolling on Facebook, and seeing some kind of news article and I remember him shouting out “holy shit I think that’s Pieter’s truck!” Me and my grandma had no clue what he was referring to. My dad shows my grandma the phone, she instantly bursts into tears. He tells her to immediately call the city hospital where she worked to see if he had been checked in there. He had. Nobody would tell me what was going on. I was standing outside, crying wondering if something terrible had happened to one of my bestest friends. I was told to just go inside, grab some dinner and eat on the couch, and not to worry about it. I grabbed some of the mac and cheese that we had made homemade together, before he drove away. I managed to swallow some of the most delicious mac and cheese I’ve ever had; but it wasn’t the same eating it next to him. Instead I was sitting in the corner of the couch, which was also his bed, crying wondering if my uncle was ever going to come home again. Still being in the dark about what was happening, my dad told me to come outside, and meet his new girlfriend, April. Now, still writing this 3-4 years later, I am not a fan of my father’s now wife. And I couldn't imagine a worse day to be introduced to her. I was beyond scared, especially because nobody would tell me what was going on. I barely said hello to her before I ran back inside to tend to my mac and cheese that I was trying to finish. About 20 minutes later my step mom and my sister showed up. She had come to take me home with her. When I had gotten into the car, she told me “Kylie, your uncle Pieter has gotten into a terrible car accident; but I believe he will be okay. But you may not see him for a while.” My soft cries instantly turned into sobs. I was so grateful that somebody had finally let me in. At this point I had known about my uncle’s drug addictions, my mother had told me when he went to jail last time. My dad tried to hide it from me by continuously telling me he was on a cruise; it was winter and it went on for over 9 months. I was not a little child anymore, I got curious. My mom finally told me. I didn’t quite understand why my dad wouldn’t tell me, maybe he was trying to protect me. But he was doing more damage than even letting me know my uncle was safe and alive. As I said, this was about 3 or 4 years ago. My uncle is now clean and living the best life I have ever seen him live. And I couldn’t be more proud of him. Addiction kills so many people. I am so lucky that my uncle decided that was the last time he would ever touch a drug. He tells me every time he gets the chance that I am the reason he is sober. Ever since I was little he has always been my favorite family member, even though technically we aren’t supposed to have them. My connection only grew deeper to him as I saw the side of him that my younger self would’ve never imagined. I found out that I relate to him in so many ways, he has always been my number one supporter and best friend. This is just my experience with things like this. My uncle could have killed an innocent man that night, but they were both very lucky. Imagine the tragedy that family would have faced if that would have happened. If my uncle would have killed that man that night, I also guarantee I would feel some sort of responsibility for it. I am very grateful that things turned out the way they did, but I know that others are not as fortunate. Driving under the influence kills so many innocent people every single day. And it affects everyone involved, or even just related to someone involved.