Cars Roll On

One of the first things you'll ever learn is to look both ways before you cross the street and, as an expert in what can go wrong when you think the coast is clear, you should probably listen to that little nagging voice in your head that sounds suspiciously like your parents. Even when the light is red and you think, "Hey I can go now!" make sure you pay attention to the cars on the sides of the intersection because when you're standing there wondering why that large white vehicle isn't stopping, surprisingly not much goes through your mind besides, "This is going to hurt."

I didn't even get that brilliant flash of my life that so many people talk about. Where were all the years that were supposed to present themselves in front of my eyes? Where was this life changing experience that was supposed to make me realize the bigger picture in life?

However, waking up finding yourself sprawled on a busy street, blood wet on the upper left corner of your forehead seeping down your face, head pounding in an unusual and scary way, right arm feeling odd, with paramedics asking you numerous questions about who you were and where you came from, does create somewhat of an impact on your psyche.

And then realizing later on that the vibrating phone in your pocket that you desperately try to answer as the paramedics tell you to ignore it is your mother calling you telling you that one of your best friends from home passed away gives you yet another wake up call. I may be bandaged, casted, and bruised, but yet every day I feel so thankful I'm ok. I relive that moment, the one where the front of the car rammed into my left side, so often, thinking to myself what could have been if I had been at another point in the road, if I had been facing a different direction, if the vehicle hadn't stopped. For someone like me to be so lucky while someone like my friend Ashley wasn't makes me feel incredibly guilty, yet extremely aware of what can happen in an instant. No longer do I feel that invincibility that young people often do.

You'll probably have friends who tell you that cars will stop for you, and for the most part, they're right. But that one chance sure scares the hell out of me.