During my childhood, my life changed due to a health crisis. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It changed everything in my life. I was very scared, confused, and wasn’t sure about my future. I was unsure of what this all meant. I did not know if I can live a normal life. I was guided by a doctor, Dr. Roxanne. She gave me hope and was very supportive. I learned that she was an Endocrinologist. As a third grader, she said something that sticks with me today, “It will be okay. This doesn’t have to stop you from doing anything you love.” Just like my sudden diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes, a single second of distraction from driving or the inexperience of driving can change a teenager’s future. In both situations, education is very important, from understanding the basics, to understanding what can happen if you don’t pay attention or think safety. It is important to have events or other things to bring awareness to driver safety, especially to teenagers. This helps teenagers gain skills and tools to learn how to become experienced drivers and know what to do when facing challenges.
As a teenager with a chronic disease, I often have to live through challenges. Sometimes, I might be distracted and not realize that my blood sugar is too high or too low, or I forget to give myself insulin before I eat. What this does is it forces me to be aware, smart, and understanding of this disease and how to take care of myself. In the same way, teenage drives must do the same. With the skills we learned from our parents or in driving school, we must always be aware of these things, be a smart driver, and understand the importance of not being distracted. If we get into a situation, we are unsure of, we should not panic, but we should remember to stay calm and stay focused, ignoring all distractions and try to remember what we were taught. If there are peers who are often distracting while driving, consider them finding another ride or telling them about the distractions.
One time, I was driving at night. I came to a four way stop. A semi-truck was turning in my direction and almost hit me! In a quick reaction, I made sure no one was behind me and I was able to quickly back up to give the semi-truck room. Then, I stopped back at the stop sign and was getting ready to turn left and another car facing me just pulled up to the stop sign. The car barely stopped and continued at the same time that I was going to turn! I slammed on my breaks to allow the car to go. I’ve seen my parents in similar situations and remembered what they did. Just as they did, I remembered that they stayed calm. They were aware of their surroundings and made sure to do the safest thing. This is important for teenage drivers. This brings together the importance of driver education, not being distracted, and staying safe.
Just like when my life changed and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, I often have to stay educated and learn how to take care of myself. I do this through visits with my Endocrinologist, organizations, events, and online resources. I also do this through teaching others about this disease and what to do if an emergency happens. In the same way, to promote safer driving among teenagers, awareness and education should be more exposed. Before prom, my school does a reenactment of drunk driving on prom night and what consequences can happen, which include being arrested or even worse, death. More of these types of lessons should happen throughout the school year. Also, some of my teachers have said that they had driving school when they were in high school and I think that is a good idea. Schools should have this as a requirement to make sure safe driving is being taught the right way. Another idea is having good older teenage drivers be mentors to the ones who are beginning to drive. They can teach about safe driving and the importance not being distracted while driving. Lastly, there should be community events that promote safe driving. This can be through the local police or DMV. They can do this at the local high schools or in the neighborhoods.
I learned to turn my fears of my diabetes into my purpose of wanting to become an Endocrinologist. Teenage drivers can find that they love to drive, but they can find their purpose by becoming safe and responsible drivers.