Name: Audrey Havenor
From: Chicago, Illinois
Votes: 20
Four
months ago, I totaled my car. In the moment that I spun off the road,
I thought that the terror I was facing would become my final memory.
Yet, after colliding into a telephone pole, a firm airbag to my arm
reminded me that I could still feel pain. Pain, what a pleasant
reminder that one is still alive! It was in this moment that I
realized how serious every detail in life is. No, I wasn’t texting.
No, I wasn’t intoxicated. While I may have only looked down for one
moment to take a bite of my chips, I now realize that it doesn’t
matter if what you’re doing is legal or not; if it alters your
focus, it impacts your life.
Fortunately,
mine was the only vehicle involved in the accident. But when I
stopped spinning, and got a grand view of the destruction that could
occur with only one vehicle, I was in shock. Not only did I destroy
this person’s pumpkin patch in their front yard, but the pages of
my vintage book collection flew about in the dismal sky. My can of
change, worth fifty dollars, rained across their driveway as a means
to repay the damage I caused. Amongst this loss, my only concern was
“What if this person had been checking their mail as I crashed?”
I couldn’t bear the thought of flirting with an accident resulting
in death, and made it a resolution to renew the caution I displayed
as a beginner driver. To review the principles of my license, I began
at square one.
The
purpose of a license is to allow one to drive. The purpose of driving
is to get to a specific destination. By completing driver’s
education, an individual gains the qualifications to expand his or
her world. However, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
Therefore, every driver must assume the risk of driving, and make it
his or her purpose to eliminate danger. Put the phone in the back
seat. Turn off the ringer. Wear a seatbelt. And we all know that real
purpose doesn’t exist at that Friday night drinking party, so don’t
go. Remember your goals, your passions, and your dreams, and do
everything in your power to achieve them. Readers, the key to
reaching our dreams is to be alive. So, everytime we are tempted to
do something careless while driving, we must remember why we are
driving. You and I have places to go, and a car will take us there.
All we have to do is be safe, be aware, and inspire others to do the
same.
