How "You Da One" by Rihanna will forever and always remind me of the biggest life lesson i've ever had to learn.

2024 drivers ed scholarship essay



Learning lessons at a young age is hard, even harder when there is nothing to fall back on. A necessary but scary experience almost every young adult goes through. I am a raw 19 years old, a freshman at Arizona State University, and I myself have learned many many lessons in my short time here at university. But before I got here I had to learn one of the biggest lessons of all; safe driving. I myself have always been very wary about getting into cars with people, especially new drivers. I never expected that I would be the one I was so scared of. At 18 years old, I got into my first car accident during a snowstorm on my way to work. I remember it like yesterday, my car does too. It was the first snowfall of the season, and on the east coast that means it could be the biggest snowfall we get. I was prepared for this storm, and stayed in all night. Until the next morning, when I needed to be in the bagel shop at seven AM. Looking out my window, the street was white, houses were white, everything was covered in white. I remember it being so calm and peaceful. Nobody is out, the street is still covered, the snow absorbing any noise from the wind. Still, danger was in the air. My area suffered from constant flooding weeks prior, unfortunately. I had a feeling that the streets would be frozen over. I remember texting my manager, confirming that the storm would hopefully call for a closing that day. To my surprise he responded with, “nope, come in at 8. Still open”. I'm pretty sure I almost cried. I absolutely dreaded having to get up, get dressed, heat my car, drive there with the streets covered. At least we open an hour later…right? I looked out the window and the town was already starting to plow the streets. I went into my moms room, having to face her and tell her I would have to drive in the snow. She tried to fight me about driving, but I assured her the streets looked okay and I would be able to make it to work safely. This was not the case. As I was getting ready to leave, I walked outside and my neighborhood seemed dead. No noise, nothing, very eerie. I already had a dull feeling in my stomach. So I went on, heated up my car, and left off for work. On my way there, my tires were already acting funky, but I didn't think anything of it. I was about 5 minutes away, and I was coming up on a curve. At 40 miles per hour, I came about the curve and my wheel started to spin out. I completely lost control. The feeling that was in my stomach is something I never want to feel again. I realized to my right is a lake with a guard rail, and to my left a tree. All I remember is my wheel spinning out, my brakes not working correctly, and bracing for impact. I tried my best to turn my wheel to the left, all I kept thinking was, “Would I rather have my car submerged in the lake with no way out, or slammed into a tree?” I chose the latter. I hit the tree to my right, completely spun out, and ended up on the other side of the road. I sat in my car for about 5 seconds, before I started to completely ball my eyes out. Before I crashed, Rihanna's You Da One was playing. After the crash, and me sitting in silence for a solid 5 seconds, she played again. That's when the tears came. I ripped my screenplay off of the dash. The severity of the situation hit me. I was alive, but my first thought was “how am I going to pay to fix this car i just got?”. My 2008 Nissan was just gifted to me that summer, from a family friend, whose father owned the car. After he passed the car was just sitting in the driveway, and I needed one, so my mom made the purchase for me. I wasn't crying because I was scared, I was crying because of the immense amount of guilt I instantly felt. Not only did my mom purchase the car for me, but it was basically my aunt's dead fathers car. The first thing I did was pick up my phone and call my mom, sobbing. She knew instantly. She saw my Life 360 abruptly stop and knew something was wrong. I didn't have to say anything and she was already in the car on her way to get me. As I sat there, in my guilt and self disappointment, tears streaming down my face, two men pulled up in a pickup truck asking if I was okay and needed help. I told them I was okay, and that I had already called the police. We sat there for a second, in silence, as I was still profusely sobbing. The man driving, in his thick Italian accent asks “why do you cry? You hurt?”. I said no, and said that I was fine but my car wasn't. He responded, “you don't die, you ok. No broken bones. You okay. Car will get fixed. You okay.” and then drove away on their way to work. I sat there, stopped crying, letting it hit me. He was right. Yeah, I wasn't dead, no broken bones, no fractures, nothing. The only thing that would be broken was my wallet. And that was what really devastated me. Soon my mom came, and so did the police. Two hours later I was home. My car was wrecked. From going through insurance, to not, and trying my best to rectify the situation I finally fixed my car. The months that proceeded were long and very hard. I had to pick up two jobs to pay back the money I spent on fixing the car, which even though it drove me cross country, still isnt working to its full potential. I have had my fair share of life lessons learned, but this one is definitely the hardest. I still get a gut feeling in my stomach everytime I think about how I almost totaled a brand new car. Since then, I am probably the safest and most casasus driver out of all my friends. I get made fun of for how scared I get when someone makes a fast turn, or when someone goes even 10 over, but my friends haven't experienced what i have, and until they do they wont understand my fears.
Now everytime I hear Rihanna's You Da One, I am reminded of one of the first life lessons I've ever learned, and probably my biggest.