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Madison Rossetti

Mrs. Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 1010, Section 2

14 Jan. 2020

The Hardest and Most Valuable Reality Check

On an ordinary Monday morning, my sister and I said goodbye and love you to my

parents and siblings. We were headed to school at our usual time around 7:02 am. The only thing

we were prepared for was a long day at Herriman High School for a little sophomore, and a

ready to graduate senior. Little did we know our day was going to start off a little different. My

sister and I decided to venture off from our normal way to school to find a faster route, because

the high school traffic was insane. When I say insane, I mean insane. We live ten minutes away

from the high school, and many days it took thirty to forty minutes to arrive at school. We would

always roll into the school parking lot, and my sister dropped me off at the front so I could run to

class. Back then, I was so concerned to be late to class and always had to be on time, but with my

now recently diagnosed senioritis, being on time is not always the first thing on my agenda. After

dropping me off at the front of the school, my sister who did not care to be on time, would go

find a parking spot in the back of the parking lot, and try to make it to class as fast as she could.

Because of our many experiences rolling in right on time, we decided we should try and find a

faster, and more efficient route to school.

As we started driving, we decided to take a loop around the straight road to the high

school. I remember talking to my sister, but then deciding to close my eyes to sleep the rest of

the way to the school because I was so tired. Little did I know that when I closed my eyes the
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most tragic event was going to happen, and I was going to learn life's greatest lessons. In the next

twenty minutes I learned that life is so fragile. You never know when your whole world is going

to be turned upside down, so you have to make the most of every second. Life is not a right, it is

a privilege. I also learned that I have many people who love and care for me and my sister. I am

forever grateful for the many texts and calls that I received that day. I have never been snapped

back to reality so fast, but in this moment I realized that I need to be grateful for every moment,

every chance, and everyday that I get to wake up, have a new day, and see the sunrise again.

Ever since this hard but important experience, I have tried to make the most of every second and

never take life for granted. We have things happen to us in life and we have no idea why, but it

will make us stronger in the long run.

My sister, Lexi, turned onto Herriman Parkway and stopped in the long line of cars to

turn right. All of the sudden, there was a loud noise, horns honking, car frames crumbling, tires

deflating and the shock and panic of me and my sister. We both open our eyes to see airbags,

another car in the backseat of our car, our car smashed, and four cars in front of us all crunched

into each other. It all happened so fast. The Crown Victoria, which was inside and on top of my

sisters Mazda 3 was about two inches away from my sister’s head. We both looked around and

started panicking, my sister’s door was jammed so I had to pull her out the side of my car. We

sat down on the grass as many people came rushing to us, the lady who just totaled our car,

remains sitting in her car with all but a cut on her hand. I remember a nurse, on her way to work

at the school right next to where the accident happened, was aiding help to my sister and her

head that was cut and bleeding. Some kind person called 911 for us, as I dialed my mom’s

number. After just one ring, she picked up the phone. I told her that we had just been rear ended
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and our car was totaled. My parents were both shocked and confused on how our car was totaled

in a rear ending. I updated her about me and Lexi, and she said that my dad, who is also a police

officer, is on his way.

I remember sitting on the grass, watching all of the moms drive by, with their kids faces

pressed up against the windows, amazed, and wondering what happened. Shortly after, my dad,

the police, and the firefighters showed up. They looked at me and my sister, we were both okay,

but told us to go to the doctors. After we watched our cars get pulled apart by a big truck, talked

to the police and firefighters, thanked everyone for their help, and looked at the high school

teacher sitting in the police car, we got in our car and headed to the doctor’s office. The high

school teacher who rear ended me and my sister at around fifty miles an hour claimed she fell

asleep while driving. It is still unknown to this day whether or not she fell asleep or was texting,

as many people said it looked like she was. But whatever she was doing caused months of

physical therapy for me and my sister, CT scans, and permanent damage. My ribs, and butt hurt,

and I had a massive headache, but my injuries were nothing compared to by sister who now has

scoliosis from the car that was two inches from her head. The outcome could have been a lot

worse than it was, and I am so grateful to be alive today, but it still gave me a major reality check

and taught me so much.

Who knows what this teacher was thinking after she caused this tragic accident, and we

don’t know what she had to say or anything. After the accident, she never came up to anyone and

said she was sorry, or even explained herself. I am not the person to hold a grudge towards

someone and I did not want to hold a grudge against this lady, but she caused so much hurt

towards me, and my family. At one point, I was sitting on the curb about two car lengths away
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from her when we made eye contact, immediately she just looked away. The good in me just

hopes that she was sorry, or even just felt bad for the pain she caused. But we will never know.

Even though this day still remains so vividly in my head, it is still full of unknowns. What if we

decided to go our normal way to school? What if we left our house earlier or later? What if I had

stayed awake in the car and didn’t fall asleep? What if we had given our neighbors a ride to

school? A few days after the crash, we went to go take pictures of the car at the car lot. After

looking at the car, we realized that we are so beyond grateful to be alive. The only part of the car

that wasn’t crushed was where me and my sister were sitting. I don’t even want to think about if

we had someone in the back seat of our car. My sister usually gives my neighbors a ride to

school in the mornings, and I do not exactly remember if they didn’t need one, or we told them

we couldn't give them a ride in the morning that it happened, but after the accident, we are

blessed to not have brought them to school.

A year later after the accident, I showed up to my math class. My teacher had gotten a

substitute. I walked in and to my surprise, the teacher who had rear ended us a year ago was our

substitute. It brought back all of the memories and I was not happy to see her. She introduced

herself to the class and told us she had broken her back. Later in the class she came over and

started talking to me and my friend. She then told us how she had gotten in two car accidents, the

accident that I was not in resulted in her breaking her back and having surgery. Although she

probably did not know who I was, and not knowing that she caused the car accident that I was in

a year ago, I knew exactly who she was and what she did to me. The whole time she was telling

her stories, I was biting my tongue, trying not to unleash myself upon her. I have no idea what

she has been through, and she has no idea what I have been through. Everyone has their own
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story to tell, and who knows what her story consists of. Once the bell rang and I left class, I

decided to close a door that has been waiting to be closed. After a long time of being angry,

upset and confused towards this high school teacher who changed our lives forever, I drove

home on the same road where the accident happened, I finally accepted the apology that I never

got.