The traffic light read red as we approached the street, Pusan, to continue straight. I turned back happily looking at my brothers and left at my mom. It was now going to be our third time going to the gym.
Ever since I was young, I envied the strong relationships my friends had with their parents that were created at the gym. My parents were never the exercising type, so it was hard for me to bring up the word “gym” in front of them, my dad especially.
“Just get some empty milk jugs, fill them up with water, and make the most of it!” shouted my dad. “You don’t need to fancy membership, it’s just a waste of money.”
My dad added, “The market wants you to go to the gym, that's why they advertise it so much!”
“It looks really fun though, and all my friends go with their parents. I think it’ll be really fun if we all go together!” I exclaimed.
“No, no, no.” My dad sighed, “Why are you being a sheep? You can’t always follow what everyone’s doing. Make your own gym! Back in my day, we would create everything from scratch! You kids these days are so lazy.”
“I guess,” I sadly replied.
With my head down, I would slowly walk back into my room, wondering if I would ever get to experience the “gym”.
In the summer of 2022, I was scrolling through my feed when I saw a post that read, “Teens attend free!”. Elated, I quickly sent the link to my mom and my brothers. My equally excited brothers asked my mom if they could sign up as well. And soon enough, we were on our way to the gym.
“2002” by Anne-Marie played in the car as we stopped at the light on Pusan. It was like any other Wednesday afternoon, as going to the gym 2 to 3 times a week became our new norm. Before we knew it, we felt a sudden whiplash as a big shadow loomed over us.
I look up, with a metallic taste in my mouth, and see the light still red. I realized that I had hit my lips on the passenger dashboard.
“Is everyone okay?” my mom worriedly asked.
“What happened?” I responded, “I can taste blood mom.”
“I think the car behind crashed into us,” my brother added.
My mom reassured me, “Okay, sweetie we’re gonna pull over.”
My mom looks at her rear and side-view mirror to signal the driver behind us to pull over. Thankfully, the driver compiled and followed us over to the street on the right. The standard procedure was to take their driver’s license, vehicle registration card, and current address.
“Call your dad honey,” my mom instructed.
I did, and my dad listed all the things we needed to retrieve from the driver. My brother, with his phone, would be taking pictures of the destruction made, along with the driver’s car. Luckily, the driver was very apologetic and sincere about it. After the issue was resolved, we decided to turn back home as the day had made a huge impact on our minds.
Today, I still look back on that incident, wondering if the collision could have been prevented. For one, the driver must have been on his phone as the collision wasn’t a slight bump. Many accidents like mine can be prevented if people are focused on the road and their surroundings at all times. Going on your device when on the road can cause you to drive too fast or too flow, leading to accidents that may be fatal. It was then I learned the importance of driver’s education and to take it seriously.
One may decide to forget all the things they’ve learned during driver’s education, however, I believe it’s crucial as it helps you learn skills and gain knowledge that’ll allow you to react faster in dangerous situations. It’s also significant to emphasize the importance of being a safe driver as it will not only save your but others' lives. An accident can cause some victims to develop PTSD and have a hard time driving again, as they fear they might get into an accident once more. My mom, a victim of the accident, has developed a minor PTSD as she feels scared when a car stops too close behind her or gets close on the freeway.
So, yes, you might not care much, but more awareness of proper driving needs to be advocated because if not death, someone might suffer from severe long-term damages that they will have a hard time recovering from.
Ever since I was young, I envied the strong relationships my friends had with their parents that were created at the gym. My parents were never the exercising type, so it was hard for me to bring up the word “gym” in front of them, my dad especially.
“Just get some empty milk jugs, fill them up with water, and make the most of it!” shouted my dad. “You don’t need to fancy membership, it’s just a waste of money.”
My dad added, “The market wants you to go to the gym, that's why they advertise it so much!”
“It looks really fun though, and all my friends go with their parents. I think it’ll be really fun if we all go together!” I exclaimed.
“No, no, no.” My dad sighed, “Why are you being a sheep? You can’t always follow what everyone’s doing. Make your own gym! Back in my day, we would create everything from scratch! You kids these days are so lazy.”
“I guess,” I sadly replied.
With my head down, I would slowly walk back into my room, wondering if I would ever get to experience the “gym”.
In the summer of 2022, I was scrolling through my feed when I saw a post that read, “Teens attend free!”. Elated, I quickly sent the link to my mom and my brothers. My equally excited brothers asked my mom if they could sign up as well. And soon enough, we were on our way to the gym.
“2002” by Anne-Marie played in the car as we stopped at the light on Pusan. It was like any other Wednesday afternoon, as going to the gym 2 to 3 times a week became our new norm. Before we knew it, we felt a sudden whiplash as a big shadow loomed over us.
I look up, with a metallic taste in my mouth, and see the light still red. I realized that I had hit my lips on the passenger dashboard.
“Is everyone okay?” my mom worriedly asked.
“What happened?” I responded, “I can taste blood mom.”
“I think the car behind crashed into us,” my brother added.
My mom reassured me, “Okay, sweetie we’re gonna pull over.”
My mom looks at her rear and side-view mirror to signal the driver behind us to pull over. Thankfully, the driver compiled and followed us over to the street on the right. The standard procedure was to take their driver’s license, vehicle registration card, and current address.
“Call your dad honey,” my mom instructed.
I did, and my dad listed all the things we needed to retrieve from the driver. My brother, with his phone, would be taking pictures of the destruction made, along with the driver’s car. Luckily, the driver was very apologetic and sincere about it. After the issue was resolved, we decided to turn back home as the day had made a huge impact on our minds.
Today, I still look back on that incident, wondering if the collision could have been prevented. For one, the driver must have been on his phone as the collision wasn’t a slight bump. Many accidents like mine can be prevented if people are focused on the road and their surroundings at all times. Going on your device when on the road can cause you to drive too fast or too flow, leading to accidents that may be fatal. It was then I learned the importance of driver’s education and to take it seriously.
One may decide to forget all the things they’ve learned during driver’s education, however, I believe it’s crucial as it helps you learn skills and gain knowledge that’ll allow you to react faster in dangerous situations. It’s also significant to emphasize the importance of being a safe driver as it will not only save your but others' lives. An accident can cause some victims to develop PTSD and have a hard time driving again, as they fear they might get into an accident once more. My mom, a victim of the accident, has developed a minor PTSD as she feels scared when a car stops too close behind her or gets close on the freeway.
So, yes, you might not care much, but more awareness of proper driving needs to be advocated because if not death, someone might suffer from severe long-term damages that they will have a hard time recovering from.
Content Disclaimer:
Essays are contributed by users and represent their individual perspectives, not those of this website.
