A Text or A Life?

Growing into adolescence, my mother always found it vital to spend quality time with each other. Any available moment my mom had we would take a girl’s spa day, go shopping, catch a movie, or go on a random road trip. As my mom was a single mother and worked quite often, taking various trips out of the house to spend time with each other did not always fit her busy schedule. Quite often we would find ourselves watching television while eating dinner. One day, I remember my mom and me in that exact predicament. Usually, I look forward to television time, however, this time was not as exciting because my mom turned on CBS News and not our binge-worthy show called All American. As I was frustrated from watching the boring segments on the news, one segment came on that I remember to this day. It was about a young teenage girl named Camryn Callaway who lost her life in a car wreck due to texting and driving. I recall watching her family being heartbroken, however, still spreading Camryn’s death as awareness to others about the consequences of texting and driving. At that moment, I vowed to myself not to text and drive as I would never want my mom to be in that predicament Camryn’s parents were in. Although I vowed to never text and drive as a young girl, I did not follow through with my own vow down the road.

I got my first car when I was a senior in high school. This came with waves of excitement, as I felt a freedom that I have never felt before. I could finally say I could travel anywhere within reason and not have to worry about obtaining a ride from someone else. Eager every time I got a chance to drive my car, my excitement led me to be oblivious to the bad driving habits I was obtaining. I started to play my music loud while my friends were in my car, would hold long conversations with individuals on the phone, and would often change my music on my phone while driving. As much of an inexperienced driver I was, I kept on becoming more comfortable with the bad habits I obtained when I was driving my car. At its worst, I started to become comfortable with texting and driving. The promise I made years ago to not text and drive became a distant memory of mine. That was until one day I found myself texting and driving when the vehicle in front of me slam on its brakes. Instantly, I dropped my phone and slammed on my brakes nearly crashing into the car in front of me. All I could think at that moment was how wrong that incident could have gone. This moment made me realize the importance of safe driving and the responsibility one has behind the wheel.

As that was a scary experience for me, It was also a learning experience. Through various steps I implemented among myself, I was able to form good driving habits. The first step was to put my phone out of reach and on enable do-not-disturb while driving. I made it a habit to check my phone before I pulled off and let my mom know that I was in transit so I do not feel tempted to touch my phone while driving. I also ensured that before I pulled off my music was on an appropriate volume while driving and my playlist was on shuffle so I had no reason to touch my phone. When passengers are in my car, I find it important to let them know that I’m still an inexperienced driver and can not hold a conversation the whole time. All of these changes that I made allowed me to form good driving habits, however, I did not stop there. As a teen, it is easy to feel peer pressure and want to impress your friends while driving. Anytime I am a passenger and notice the driver displaying bad driving habits, I politely correct them. This way, the driver can recognize their poor driving habits and start to correct themselves.

To conclude, it is imperative to obtain good driving habits early on. As I did not always display the best driving habits, I learned a lesson while driving that could have ended wrongly and now want to spread awareness of the importance of driving safely. Often, I think of Camryn Callaway and all of the lives that have been taken away due to unsafe driving. I find it to never take life for granted and let a simple distraction give up those important times that I spend with my mom, whether that is watching television or taking a girl’s day out.