You never think it'll happen to you. You always see it on TV shows and movies, and on the news. You see how the car just flipped over and landed on the top and no one survived. Or you see a family in their car get hit by a semi truck and only the mom survives. You see car accidents everywhere, but you never think it'll happen to you because well you're a good driver so how could you possibly get in an accident, right?

Well that's what I thought. I didn't think there was a chance that I would ever get into an accident. I got a good grade in drivers ed, I stopped at stop signs, I wore my seatbelt, I waited for kids to cross the street, how could I ever get in an accident? Well, I was fooled. You never know if it's going to happen to you, and it's not always your fault. It doesn't matter if you're a good driver or not, there could be a bad driver on the road and you could pay for it. That's what happened to me.

I was on my way home from graduation parties with my friend, Dakota. We had just eaten ice cream and cotton candy. I was going the speed limit and there were no cars around so I knew I wouldn't be getting in an accident until I saw a tan car at a stop sign. They hesitated to turn, they stopped then went then stopped again, and we were asking each other what they were doing and what I should do. But when they saw me coming, they didn't try to move out of the way, they just stopped. In the middle of the road. I had to internally ask myself, "Do I try to slow down and hit these people, which I know will kill the people in the car and not myself and my friend?" Or would it be better to slam on my breaks and swerve, possibly killing myself and Dakota?" I had no idea what to do. Ask yourself those questions. It was either my life or their life and I couldn't choose. I didn't know who was in that car. I didn't know if it was a family, or more teenagers, or an old couple. I had no idea who was in that car and I didn't want to risk it being a young family. So I slammed on my breaks as hard as I could, not knowing the outcome. I completely lost control of my vehicle and we went into the first little ditch, and after that, we went in the air and flipped it 3 1/2 times. We landed in another field on the top of the car. I don't remember seeing anything, so when people ask me what really happened, I can't promise them that I know, because I don't. I do remember the way it felt, I remember my face locking up and my arms locking up. I can still hear the crashing and loud noises. I can feel my body getting turned upside down. They all ask details, about the airbags and the way they sounded. But I don't know what they sounded like. I couldn't tell anyone no matter how hard I tried to think about it.

I remember landing and looking over at my friend Dakota. We both were screaming and I was questioning how I was going to get down, she unbuckled her seatbelt and fell, so I did the same. I looked around and everything was yellow, the seats weren't black, the dash wasn't silver, everything was just yellow. I had no idea how I was going to get out because you see in movies that the doors are closed shut and unable to be opened so I didn't even want to try, but I remember grabbing the door handle and being relieved that it opened. I'm not sure if I crawled out, or scooted out, but I know I got out, Dakota's door wouldn't open, so she crawled through the car and got out my door too.

We ended up in a field, I remember how sharp the ground felt. It hurt, but my body was hurting worse. Dakota was laying on her back screaming and crying. I didn't know what to do so I looked up the hill and saw 2 really old people standing outside of their car. They stood there and stared at us. They didn't say anything. I yelled at them to call 911 because we needed help, but they didn't they just stood there. Finally, another couple showed up and took care of us, called 911, called our parents. The cops and ambulance showed up and put us in the ambulance, they hooked me up to oxygen because I stopped breathing for a moment. I can still see the people shining a light in my eyes and shaking me telling me to stay with them and keep talking. I was terrified and couldn't believe it was really happening to us. I couldn't feel the whole left side of my body, everything was just hurting.

I didn't know what was going on but I knew I didn't like it. We finally ended up in the ER, our families showed up, we got x-rays and everything came back okay, and I started getting a breather. I realized what was going on and who was around me. I knew I was alive and that's all that mattered.

Doctors and nurses kept telling me and my family that I'm lucky to be alive. If I wasn't wearing my seatbelt, there's no way that I would still be here writing this. So to everyone who reads this: Please wear your seatbelt, they aren't lying when they say it saves lives because it saved mine.

God was with me that day, he was making sure I stayed on this Earth and that I kept breathing. I have depression and anxiety and there are days where I don't want to fight with it anymore. I get sick of dealing with it and fighting with it. My days consist of being afraid of ordering food at McDonald's and being afraid to ask the teacher if I can go get a drink. I get annoyed with myself. I get sick of being alive sometimes, and I always told my friend how I didn't want to do it anymore. But now since I got this second shot at life, I can't take it for granted. I took my life for granted and I focused on all of the negative things in life without thinking about the positives. But God gave me another chance to change that. To change my viewpoint on life. I can't live each day full of anger and sadness. Life is precious, life is short, life is beautiful. And I now know that. It's sad that it took this crazy accident to make me realize that. Most of you aren't going to get in an accident, and you're not going to have a second shot at this life. So take this from someone who knows that it's like to want to die, and just disappear: Life is worth it. It sucks, I know, but we're given this life to live it. Not hate it. Not waste it on other people. Say goodbye to your feelings for him. Say goodbye to the fight you and a friend had a month ago. Let go of the boy who broke your heart more than once. Get rid of those thoughts that you'll never be loved again. Because you are loved, you're loved by yourself, by your friends and your family. You don't need a boy to take care of you and make you happy. And that car accident made me realize all of that. He doesn't care. And that's why I need to let him go. I'm ready for a second shot, I'm ready to actually live my life, and you should feel the same way. Be happy, and quit taking life for granted. It could be taken away from you in a blink of an eye.