A Matter of Seconds

Two seconds—I never imagined that my world could have changed in two seconds. The morning was bright and my summer playlist played softly on my radio. I drove on a shaded stretch of road with my friend. Talking and laughing, we were headed to the first day of band camp, a day always filled with hope and excitement. As the trees halted, the morning sun flooded my vision. After not seeing any other cars around, I rolled through the stop sign. I still remember the deafening sound of my own screams as I collided with a car that the July sun had kept me from seeing. Smoke and bright white light flooded my senses as panic set in. Shaken to my core, I couldn’t tell if I was hurt. I couldn’t tell what had happened. The cool pavement that lay under my hands was telling me just one thing: I was alive.

One mistake—that’s what it took to alter my life entirely. Although no one was hurt beyond bruising in the accident, I still lie awake at night imagining the scenario where my mistake ended someone’s life. Reminding myself that the scenario never occurred did little. The guilt I felt in the first few weeks after the accident was almost too much to handle. I was afraid to sleep or shower because I didn’t want to be alone with my own thoughts for too long. What if I had hurt my friend? Could I ever learn to live with myself if I did? I was terrified that I would have no escape in sleep and the flashbacks would crawl their way into my dreams. The knowledge that I could’ve ruined my future in an instant haunted me in every decision I made—no matter how big or small. The accident taught me that I can never be careless; one mistake could be a matter of life or death.

Two seconds—that is the time difference that could’ve killed me. At the scene, there was something that an officer said that stuck with me since the sentence left his lips: ¨If this had happened two seconds later, you probably wouldn’t have survived.¨ I was two measly seconds from death. I was two seconds from leaving my parents without their daughter, my sister without her only sibling, and my best friend without her other half. The incident made me realize something very important: life happens much faster than I could ever imagine. It just takes two seconds for everything to change. I’ve been taught that I must live every day to its fullest. I can no longer take my friends, my family, or my life for granted. When I looked death in its terrifying face, my other problems began to seem a lot less grand and my true priorities rose to the surface.

For the rest of my life, I will always take time to think about the consequences, even in the most seemingly harmless situations. I never thought anything bad could happen on a drive to band camp, but that drive could have taken someone’s life—or even my own. I must live with caution but also live entirely. July 13th, 2020 could have been my last day—my last day with my family, my last day with my friends, and my last day with the life I’ve been given. I now know that life should never be taken for granted and I must do what my heart tells me to do and go where it tells me to go every single day. Life is just too fragile to waste; all it can take is two seconds.

I often ask myself what could have been done to keep my accident from occurring. I could have died, as many teenagers do in car accidents every year. The world is robbed of so many young, promising individuals due to simple mistakes made by themselves or others. I am thankful I am not a part of those statistics, but many are not as lucky.

I did not take my driver education as seriously as I should have. Driver education is essential for keeping the roads as safe as possible. I used to laugh along when individuals complained about driver’s ed, but since my accident, I am no longer one to laugh. I tell as many people as possible about my story to spread awareness; mistakes like that can be made by anyone, even if you were like me and thought, “That could never happen to me.” It can, and it did. It can happen to anyone, which is why as many stories as possible should be shared when young people go through driver education. They need to know the importance of education rather than just the things they teach in the class. I never want anyone else my age to have their life depend on two seconds.