It was a hot summer day and my friend and I went for a bike ride to her house to go for a swim in her pool. It was something we did thousands of times that summer. It was like any old summer day where I felt free and invincible. That all changed when I fell off my bike. I did not just fall-I flew over the handlebars. I was not invincible anymore. I lay on the ground with blood rushing from my face, teeth broken and a sense of panic filled my body. I was rushed to the hospital and received terrible news that I had broken my jaw, my elbow, my teeth were chipped and I needed a ridiculous amount of stitches. The recovery process was long and hard, but as the days went on it got a little easier and pretty soon I was feeling better.
Kindness is everywhere.
After I fell, a car drove by me. That man could have kept going, but he stopped and pulled over. He did not have to do it, but he did. He called my parents for me while another woman took me into her home and gave me ice. She told me I would be okay and did the best to comfort me. After I was discharged from the hospital I received so many texts, flowers and visits. People I hardly spoken to at school were asking how I was doing. Things like that made a world of a difference to me and helped me recover. It is amazing to me how kind people can truly be.
You are stronger than you think.
If you would of told me that a month before I started high school I would be bed ridden and had my mouth wired shut, I would not believe you nor would I ever think I could do it, but I did. Each day was a little bit easier than the day before. I built up strength I did not know I had in me. Still to this day I think if I can survive breaking my jaw, I can survive anything that life has to throw at me.
It is going to be OK.
I remember sitting in the backseat of the car on the way to the hospital thinking about how I basically ruined my life. I was planning to play soccer at a new high school and with this injury it soon became apparent that it was not going to happen. Bones heal. Teeth can be replaced. Stitches can be removed. At the end of this rollercoaster ride I was on, I was going to be OK. I was OK. Even though it took some time I healed. I got back on my bike and I ride it around now.
There are certain moments in our lives where we can look back and pinpoint where everything changed. Breaking my jaw for me was that exact movement. I view things a little differently now; it is in a better light though. I see the world as a more positive place where good things do happen. I became a happier person because of what I had been through. I smile a little bigger because I once was not physically capable to. Even though my lips are filled with scars and my teeth are a little damaged, they tell a story; a story that I would be incomplete without.
