I no longer laugh at people with crooked teeth. Imagine it is picture day, and as the photographer raises his camera your heart slowly begins to tremble as you realize that your picture is going to be in the yearbook, someone will forever be able to go back and remember you in that very moment. As the line gets shorter you begin to question everything, asking yourself questions such as “should I smile so they can make fun of me like always.” The photographer yells “next," and it is your turn. The tears begin to build, and your throat begins to slowly explode as the camera flashes and your picture is finally taken. No smile, no confidence, no resilience, just insecurity.
Growing up as the youngest child things were different. I always stood out from my four older brothers, and I always spoke up for myself because people did not understand what I faced behind the scenes. I remember getting braces in the 4th grade; I was the only student in the entire school with braces. I finally started to feel more confident. Before I knew it; my teeth were completely straight, and I was a teenager. No more color changes, no more pain from my power chains, and no more bullying. August 11, 2022, I looked in the mirror with shock as “younger me” screamed in excitement. It finally happened.
My parents began teaching me how to drive at just 14 years old, I started by going down the street in my neighborhood. What I did not know was that it was so much more to driving than just getting into a car and going wherever you please you must learn the navigation of the car before doing anything. Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive are the 4 words that ran through my mind while learning how to drive. I had the idea that driving was just so easy when riding through my neighborhood. My 15th birthday came, and I stopped driving for awhile because I had the idea that I knew how to drive, and I had already taken my virtual driving class to receive my learner's permit and that's where the real work begins. I started to drive further than my neighborhood and I finally seen how the road operates. I learned that on the road you are not just driving for yourself but your driving for those around you, which is step 1 to avoiding accidents.



As I began to learn more about driving my desire to drive began to grow and I wanted to drive a lot more until I made a mistake at light before going home and almost got into an accident. The fear of driving had taken over and I did not get behind the wheel for weeks. Growing up my older brother was a careless driver, he did not understand the value of cars and it impacted myself and my third oldest brother. Our parents were very strict on their rules and if you made a mistake on the road, they would be very hard on you not out of hate but out of love. Cars are an object that we love but also can become something that we hate because of the dangers that could happen. I soon came over my fear of driving and realized when you take the proper steps to be a safe driver they will reflect. Such as not being so quick to pull up from a green light or not being so aggressive on the road scaring other drivers, which can prevent deaths.
Now as a 17-year-old driver, I make sure that I am more careful than ever on the road. Our main goal in life is to get into our cars and make it back home with no harm. As a teenage driver it is very vital that I am careful because teens tend to have the most accidents over silly things. I have a friend who got into an accident just for not listening to her body, which served as a wake up call for me. She was tired but she kept pushing herself to go do whatever she needed to do, resulting in her falling asleep behind the wheel and hitting a truck. I remember getting the news and was instantly worried. As teenagers we try our best to be “perfect” or show our parents that we are very appreciative but sometimes we make mistakes of our own. My friend was covered by God and was not harmed, her car was totaled but her life was saved.