2020 Drivers ed Essay Contest

After snoozing my alarm twice in the morning, my alarm clock rang for the third time to the song “If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickelback. This reminded me that it was officially time to dash to the bathroom before my sister attempts to use it first. It seemed like just another day of getting ready for school, dashing out the house to the local bodega to buy a toasted cream cheese bagel, leave the store, cross the Linden and Springfield cross street intersection and walk the straight, 10 minutes – half a mile road to Frank H. Morrell Irvington High School. And there it happened. This was the same street that I have crossed a thousand times before. I waited and looked both ways. I noticed that the driver to my left, on the opposite side of the street, had stopped her vehicle. This is what prompted me to believe it was safe to cross the street. However, I was midway in the street when the 4,000-pound Toyota Camry black car slammed into the left side of my 5’3’’ petite body. This threw me into the air and caused me to land on the ground faced up. Lying in the middle of the street’s hot pavement, tears ran down my freckled caramel face. I tried to gasp for air that felt like was knocked out of me. I was also trying to make sense of the shooting pain I felt in my left leg. I desperately held on to every word of a nearby bystander that was praying over me to live. From then on, I realized the very importance of drivers ed. It is in place to reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving; this means changing the narrative from a deadly car accident to a person living to see their children graduate, get married, have children; or like myself, given a chance to live to graduate, get married, have children and fulfill my purpose in life as a future Registered Nursing student at the College of Mount Saint Vincent Accelerated Bachelors of Science Nursing Program. One can fulfill the mission of reducing the number of deaths related to driving by making intentional decisions everyday to not drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs, using a handheld device to talk or text, and properly wearing a seatbelt. Although my car accident experience was painful, both physically and emotionally, I am thankful it was not fatal. However, unfortunately, this is not the case for many individuals whose life is tragically cut short in car related accidents. To make a difference in the pursuit of changing the narrative, I will continue to make intentional decisions. This includes not driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, texting or using a handheld device to talk, and to always wear my seatbelt. Additionally, I will spread awareness via my social media platform and personally share my story with others to inspire safe driving decisions.

Thank you for your consideration.

With Gratitude,

Adeline Ulysse