A quick black blur captures my vision. The car jolts on impact and spins like a merry-go-round. My body slams into the light pink inflated balloon. Nothing about what happened seemed like reality. This is my experience of my car accident and what I learned from the traumatic experience.

Only being 17, I never thought of the outcomes of a car accident for a high schooler. As a teenager, many adults believed it was my fault for the three-car accident. Even though there was a homeless man who witnessed that I had the right-a-way,  he was deemed as a non credible source. It felt degrading trying to prove my driving to the police, paramedics and the insurance companies.

My family had only liability insurance on my car, so we had a lot of payments to make.These expenses were the towing fee, medical bills, and for the car itself. A wreck is expensive, and it is best to be prepared for the worst. It was eye-opening that something so destructive is so costly.  

Another striking thing I learned was all the aches and pains I would receive. This particular accident left pain all over my body and unexpected long term effects. I had whiplash, a sprained foot and a messed up knee. The injuries have affected my dancing and my work as a lifeguard. The paramedics and my doctor told me that I would be feeling a full body pain for awhile, but I didn’t know the extent of what different injuries would stem from the body aches and overall impact of the car jolting.

This was one of the scariest moments of my life. On top of being in a traumatic event, I had to defend myself against adults who believed because I was a teen driver,  it had to be my fault. My advice for any teen in an accident: stay calm and tell the absolute truth.