A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I’d learned to swallow pride and accept help in the face of a blizzard during a drive home from college. I mentioned how I was grateful that I stopped for the night when I did, preventing anything worse from happening to me and my passengers. A few days ago, I experienced the “worse” that I’d tried to avoid, and it taught me even more that the worst can happen at any time to absolutely anyone. On top of that, I learned the hard lesson that the worst will happen to us eventually, at some point in time. The most we can do is be prepared to face the worst at any time, but not allow it to drag us down all the time. We can stay positive while being prepared for the worst.

The long and short of it is that I suffered a car accident while driving back to college, my first since learning to drive when I was 16. I was nearly 22 before having it, too—not that I ever planned to have one, but that’s the whole point here, isn’t it? You never plan to have this sort of thing happen to you, even though you should.

Anyway, I was just pulling up to a tollbooth after getting off the highway when I hit a patch of ice that threw off my brakes and steering. Despite my best efforts, I careened towards the pickup in front of me at 40 miles per hour. At the last possible moment, I was able to swerve out of the way and only break the taillight of the pickup in front of me. Of course, that resulted in me caving in my left passenger door against a metal column and blowing out my right front tire when I jumped the curb, on top of damaging the base of the steering column. Thankfully, I walked away from the whole thing without a scratch on me.

Honestly, the hardest part of all of this for me has been the added expense and trouble that my family has gone to in order to help get me out of this mess. If I had to suffer an accident like this, I felt that the least I could do is try to handle it on my own, like an adult. Of course, being an adult also involves swallowing pride and accepting help when it’s needed. I know that I was lucky to walk away without any injury. I know that I was so fortunate to have family ready and willing to help get me out of the situation. But I also know that I can't always depend on someone being there for me in a time of need. All I could think about during the whole ordeal was how I would’ve handled it all if I had to do it on my own. I quickly reached the conclusion that I still had a lot to learn before I was ready to tackle something like this alone.

I guess what I’m trying to say out of all of this is to find a balance between self-reliance and accepting help when you truly need it. There is no shame in needing help, but do all that you can on your own to work your way out of a situation or problem. Above all, prepare for the worst while keeping your chin up and head held high, staying focused on the positive aspects in any situation.