"Lessons" By Gabriela M

It was the beginning of my senior year. Things were going alright for me at the time. I was exhausted because I felt like I took on to many tasks for my senior ,year. So being able to go out and have fun that night gave me a sense of relief. It was just like any other Friday, having fun after a football game. It was having the music blasted with the people you love to be around in the car with you.Looking at everyone’s faces of joy did not allow to think that anything would happen. It’s weird how you always think that things will go routinely, as usual. We were on our way back home from Denny’s and I was about to be dropped off at home. All I remember, seeing, was a quick flash of seeing a car speeding out of the neighborhood almost crashing into us and my friend swerving into a huge tree and a curb. As soon as it happened the driver said for all of us to get out because liquid was spilling out of the front of his car .There was dents in his car along with pieces of his car on the floor. The guys then, along with a kind man who helped us move it to the side of a street and we then we all got help from the drivers parents. Even though, we all left the scene without damage, it gave me a wakeup call because it could have been worse.You see , I had never been in a car accident before and it hit me because how could an amazing time take such a quick turn. This reminded me of how my economics teacher had said that Friday that at parties you need to watch out with your drinks because with one turn, someone could’ve inserted something dangerous in your drink so throw it away, even if you turned for just a second. It is weird how in a blink of an eye thinks could change. I feel like as teen every time someone told me that things could happen instantly, I never believed them because I just did not think it could happen to me .For the driver, a change in a good senior, a year without a car for senior year. For the kid in the passenger seat, which who was closest to the tree we crashed into could have been severe damage to his physical body. For myself, and the passenger right next to me, scarred by the image of a car crashing so quickly, and we are now cautious about whose cars we get into. Although we did not have it as bad as other people who have gotten into accidents, it got me thinking. The “what if’s” that night kept getting to me. The, if something worse had happened to all of us and we all did not have a senior year. In that moment the guy or girl that ends up on the news their senior year for passing away in a tragedy did not seem so far that night. In that moment I thought of how valuable life really is. I thought about how young my friends and I really were, and how much more time we had in our hands to do things. 

Many times I catch myself living life stressed, unhappy, and maybe even unappreciative of the love and support I do have. The things I take for granted all hit me allowing for me to step back and reflect on the positives that I do have.  I come home to a good family, a beautiful home, and thinking about all my amazing friends really got me to realize to always embrace every moment that you have on this earth and remembering you have so much more to accomplish, it was a reminder to love deeply, and be grateful for the people you care about and the people that care about you because it is never known when someone is taking their last breath.