For my entire childhood and well into my early teenage years, I was
terrified of driving. While most other high schoolers are ready to
hit the ground running and drive their friends to the hottest
parties, I was too scared to even push down the pedal. I hated the
idea of being able to make one wrong turn and suddenly my life and
dozens of others are at stake. I did not understand how billions of
people across the world just coped with that responsibility on a
daily basis.

However, as transportation became a necessity, I pushed past my
phobias. Like any teenager in any class, I did not truly pay
attention in my drivers’ education course. Sadly, I barely remember
the section on hydroplaning. Drivers ed is important, and I
should have treated it as such, because it was giving me the skills I
was going to use for the rest of my life on the road. Without drivers
education, generations will be lost in this art of transportation.


A few months later, and I had lost all my fear of the road and
driving as a whole. I was ready to conquer the world. Yet, that was
when a rainy Friday afternoon happened. I had grown cocky in my Kia
Sorento; I felt as if I did not need to obey the speed limit.


I was jetting by on a mountain on my way home from school. The hill
was extremely slick, but I did not give it a second thought. After
all, it was only the people on the commercials for lawyers who got in
automobile wrecks, right? Not me?

As I was adjusting the volume on my CD, which I know was too loud to
concentrate, my wheel started slipping out of my control. The wet
roads were causing my car to hydroplane, and I could not stop it. For
what seemed like centuries, I fought my axels to avoid oncoming
traffic, but it was no use. Just as a giant red pickup truck was
about to careen into my front corridor, I forced the front of my
vehicle into a ditch.

My poor Kia Sorento, whom I named Opal for her white coat, took a
chunk out of the side of the mountain. The airbags deployed a few
seconds after the car stopped. I had to calm my breathing to realize
if I was alive, and I was shocked to see I was.


If I had only taken hydroplaning more seriously... If I had only paid
more attention to the road... If I had only had my music volume
lower... Well, you get the picture. I am lucky my wreck was not more
catastrophic and that I am here today to share this story. When I
drive now, I always keep my distractions to a minimum and I drive
especially careful when I notice the weather is not in my favor.
Honestly, childhood me should not have been aghast at driving. She
needed to respect it.