#4 Accidents Do Happen

 Something that I pride myself in is that I am a safe driver. I was taught to drive by my dad who spent countless hours, that easily add up to months, in teaching me how to drive defensively and offensively and what to do when you know you are going to crash. The hard part is no matter how many hours you spend learning something, it will never compare to when that thing really happens. The first time you drive alone, the first accident you are in, those near misses. 

I did not realize how true this was till I, this last month, was in a crash that completely totaled my car and could have ended in death. Little back story I was driving on the 101 heading east when traffic started to merge and suddenly, we all came to a fast but complete stop. I was a cars length between me and the person in front of me when I looked up in my review mirror and just knew the person behind me was going to collide with my rear, and it was not going to be pretty. 

I remember my dad telling me during our driving lessons if I ever enter a situation like that try to relax so that the damage is not as extensive to my own body. In a split second my life changed, my head hit my steering wheel as my airbags did not deploy and my car was forced into the stopped car in front of me. I was completely stranded in the middle of the road not knowing if I was even okay and the only thing that kept coming to mind was my dad’s teachings. We had talked and talked about accidents, how they can happen, why they happen, what to do if they happen and as I was sitting in my wrecked car with tears streaming down my face, officers trying to make sure I’m okay, I just kept thinking how through all his lessons we had, it never fully prepared me to actually face the reality of it happening. I feel like this is highly underrated thought in our society today. We are being constantly prepared to face the world as adult, individuals, people, and yet when we get thrown out on our butts alone, we never truly are ready to face what the world has to offer. We like to think we know it all and we can face anything, but life has a tendency of throwing reality at us. I would urge you to remember that what you learn in a safe environment is not going to accurately reflect the reality and gravity of situations as you face them in real time. Accidentsdo happen and you can only be so ready.