"The Poor Blue Bug" by Taylor V

     It was junior year. The day had started off as normal as any other. I went to school, talked to friends, did my class work, and counted the down the minutes until school was over. At last, the final bell rang and the day was now able to begin. My friends and I hung out all night doing typical teenage things; listening to music, eating food, and enjoying each others company.

It was approximately 10:40 p.m, I started to drive my friends home- yet again another normal task to do. As I came down the street of Etiwanda, approaching the intersection of Highland, I had a green light. As any other driver would have done, I proceeded through the intersection. Unfortunately, a drunk driver was not paying attention to the bright red light that was ahead of him. I remember these next moments vividly.

Suddenly, our cars collided and a large crashing noise was heard. I saw as the front of my car shriveled up, the air-bag quickly inflated, smoke started to come from the front, and my blue Volkswagen Beetle started to spin faster than a merry-go-round. All I remember thinking to myself is “why me.” I was paralyzed in thought. Unable to react, I hadn't even noticed the car stopped spinning. “Taylor! Taylor get out of the car!” my friend exclaimed from the front seat. As I slowly re-entered reality, a rush of pain was felt on my stomach from the air-bag. I got out of the car and noticed myself limping due to pain on my left leg. This pain was unbearable, I wouldn't wish this pain on my worst enemy. I sat on the curb, crying hysterically, not knowing what to do. Luckily, God sent an angel to come help me in the form of a woman's body. “Sweetie, you have to call your mom. Sweetie please call your mo- Yes hello, 911?” I heard her say before I realized to call my mom. I raced to the car to grab my phone, which somehow ended up in the back. The cops and ambulance came and the sweet lady left. I never even got her name. I could barely get a word out to the officers in between my crocodile tears. I looked behind me and noticed my hurt friends and there was nothing I could do. I felt terrible. They trusted me to get them home safely and I failed them.

It seemed liked hours had went by, but in reality, minutes passed and everything began to settle down. I remember sitting on the curb with my friends, all of us w stained cheeks from our tears. As we stared at the wrecked blue bug, many thoughts ran through our head “Why us” “If only we were there seconds later” “What's going to happen”

The following week at school was the weirdest by far. I felt as if every person at school was just staring at me and my limp, as if I did something wrong. Rumors started to spread of what had happened. They made me feel as if it was my fault for the accident. I couldn't help to believe that it was. My best friend, at the time, did not talk to me for the entire week. On top of all the rumors spreading, my BEST FRIEND wouldn't even talk to me. This had put me even more down than I already was. I felt as if I had done something wrong, as if this whole thing happened because of me. I apologized for what I had done numerous times to my friends who were involved, and even their parents. My mom assured me that the accident wasn't my fault, but it was so hard to believe that I hadn't done anything wrong when rumors were spreading and I couldn't even get my own best friend to be there for me, as a good friend should.  

Moving on from this day, I've learned many things: be cautious when crossing an intersection, dont drink, dont drink AND drive, but most importantly, I learned to be strong, both mentally and physically. Mentally, I had to overcome my developed fear of driving. I am still working on my anxiety of driving at night and nearly six months later, I still avoid that intersection at any cost. I also had to learn to believe in myself. I had to believe that I had not done anything wrong to harm my friends nor to push away my friend. Physically, I had to learn how to make my soft and inflamed knee-cap strong again. It took months, but I am slowly starting to feel less pain in my knee. Everything happens for a reason, which is why I now believe that this happened to allow myself to make myself a stronger person. By believing in myself mentally, I was able to believe in myself physically and heal faster than the doctors said I would.

I adored my royal blue Volkswagen Beetle. Blueberry Azul Quavo Petunia, as my friends called my car, gave so many memories to my friends and I. From beach trips to spontaneous trips to get boba, my blue bug gave all of us joy. Tragically, my beloved blue bug was unable to be fixed, but my friends and I were able to walk away with not so serious injuries. I was devastated at the death of my car, but I had to understand that my friends and I physical health is far more important than any car. Although this accident impaired me both mentally and physically, it has made me by far a more stronger person.