I had only been driving myself to school for a few months. That was the bonus to living in the country, getting to drive at 14. I had been on the road that I was driving that day as a passenger and as the driver, so I thought I knew the roads like the back of my hand. I could not have been more wrong.

It was one of those warm sunny days in November. One that you made sure to take advantage of because it was a rarity. It was going to be a great day I could feel it. It was opening night of my high school’s one-act play production, and the mix of nerves and excitement were starting to set in.

The time finally came for me to start making my way to Clarks, Nebraska, where we would be performing. I walked out of the house in shorts and a light jacket. I got into my silver, 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo and put in the latest mix CD that I had made. It had an eclectic mix of Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, and some of the latest Top 40 hits. I plugged in my phone in to the charger and began the drive. After only a minute of driving I realized that I had forgotten to put on my seatbelt, so I slowed down a bit and did that.

I made it over the large hill just around the corner from the road on which I lived. I was heading for a S- curve, acting with a slight cockiness that was not deserved. I was turning up the radio and the next thing I knew I lost control. The car was doing whatever it wanted and there was no way to regain control. The car spun around in the road, enough so that I ended up facing the opposite direction that I was going. I had let go of the wheel and closed my eyes.

When I opened them I was sideways about ready to fall all the way over, and then I was upside down in a ditch. I was saying to myself, “This isn’t happening, this is just a dream, this isn’t happening.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I had wrecked my car. I sat there trying to figure what to do next. I unbuckled my seatbelt thankful that some voice in my head or higher being had made put it on that day. I fell to the ceiling of the car and saw my phone dangling from the chord. I was glad that I didn’t have to go searching for it. What was once music turned to static coming from the speakers.

I realized that I was trapped under the steering wheel and tried my hardest to get out. I couldn’t get the steering wheel to move for me and so with all the adrenaline coursing through me I didn’t even notice that I had put a gash in my thigh until I had crawled out the broken window. I crawled up out of the ditch trying to contact my mom in the low service area. A man named Charlie, saw the dust but no car, so he gave me a ride home when he saw me getting out of the ditch. I don’t think I’ve ever been hugged so hard my mom.

What I'm trying to say from this narrative is, never take any moment for granted! And listen to all those little things nagging at you. If I had never put on my seatbelt, I might not be here to post this article