I fully intended on writing this week's article about my first tattoo experience and talking about the tattoo I got a week ago. But then last night my brother, sister-in-law, and I got in a car wreck and I realized that I couldn't let a week go by without saying this: life is not a guarantee.
Last night, going 75 mph, my life was altered in one second. We lost control of the vehicle, missed a car by a smidge, and smashed into a guardrail, only to be bounced back into the two-lane highway and somehow avoiding getting hit by oncoming cars. None of us were seriously injured, but it is safe to say we were definitely jarred and the car was definitely not OK.
As we all stared at each other in the aftermath, all that seemed to matter was that we were OK. We were alive. Suddenly all the minute details of the day, the songs we were listening to, and all the last things to get before moving into college lost all their importance.
All I could keep thinking was how one second can change your life. One second of lost focus can lead to hours of waiting for cops and getting towed and waiting for your parents in a Shell parking lot and crying as soon as you see your mother. One second can lead to driving super paranoid the next day and flinching at every car passing by you or lead to sobbing for five minutes as soon as you put your car in park. And we were lucky. We all could imagine worst case scenarios, and how if one single thing had changed the outcome would have been completely different.
It may sound like I'm just rambling on and on about this accident, but it shook me to my core. And it reminded me how in this life, each day is not a promise and not a guarantee. It reminded me how valuable life is, and how quickly you can lose something that means everything to you. How one moment can affect so much in your life.
It reminded me that there is so little in life that is worth getting worried about. Does it matter what color my dorm comforter is? Does it truly matter if I get a C on a test? Does it really matter if I misunderstood what someone said to me? Does the type of car I drive and the size of my house change who I am? When you really start to think about it, very little truly matters.
What does matter is hugging your grandma hard every chance you get, listening to that long story your dad has told you a million times before, telling your mother you love her every night before bed, and soaking up the time with your loved ones.
Our lives can change in one simple second. One minute you can be driving along jamming to "Panic! at The Disco" and the next you're stepping over broken glass on the side of a highway. So, remember what matters to you and hold on to the things you truly care about. And if one second can affect so much, make your seconds truly matter.
