At sixteen you feel invincible, like you have the world at your fingertips
If you wanted to you could reach out and touch China- with some determination
You’ve got a car and the ability to leave your house whenever you see fit
So freedom is stamped across the open road as plain as that “Do Not Read” Stamped straight across your principals letter home to your parents
Suddenly everything that was going wrong now seems so right
Your friends are closer, that boy you’ve had a crush on forever said hi to you in the hallway- Making a blush tinge your cheeks so red you had to turn away
But you knew that he would be there tonight, so it was okay
Oh, did you forget to mention having a car, meant doing things your parents didn’t know?
Don’t hesitate to answer, we’ve all been there too
We know that the second your parents leave the house to let you go to the movies: That probably isn’t where your headed, and you probably won’t be spending the night at your best friends house telling ghost stories and doing eachothers nails- I mean, your sixteen now, and those are such childish things
Instead after you promise your mom you’ll be safe, without understanding why she’s so worried, you rush off to pick up four, or five friends to drive to that popular kids party- That always happens to be in the middle of nowhere where you’ve never been before: But go ahead, drive, turn up the music, laugh with your friends
Enjoy being a teenager
Because, you’re invincible and nothing can happen to you right?
You’ll take it back- You’ll want to take it all back in a heartbeat just to go to the movies with your best friend on a Friday night, then spend the night telling ghost stories and doing eachothers nails while gossiping about the cute boy down the street- ‘Cause the second you turn that radio up you’re tuning yourself in to become another statistic
Your head was tilted back for a picture with your friend while singing the lyrics
To one of Britney Spears’ new songs when it happened
The car came out of no where you swear, you didn’t see the stop sign
These words came out of your mouth when you woke up the next morning at the hospital- Head on collision with a car in another lane
You see when your friend had been taking the picture, your eyes were focused on the camera- Not on the road in front of your so you swerved, not only missing a stop sign: But not at all missing a car headed straight your way, no one was conscious when the police came
You’ve now lost your best friend, and a couple of others thanks to your mistake
All because having fun was a little more important than the simple task of staying safe
At sixteen you learn some of lifes biggest lessons
You find out that you’re not invincible no matter how much you thought you were- That having your license doesn’t mean you’re completely free
When you leave your house and your parents caution you its for a reason
Too many people die each day, not just from drunk driving, or being high behind the wheel
But just from being distracted from the road
That two second look away to figure out what your friends are laughing at in the back seat could cost everyone in it their lives
If you could go back you’d change it all in a second
Take heed to your parents warning and be safe
But you can’t take it back so you have to move forward
Because of what happened to you that night that changed your life
You have a message for every teen driver around the nation
Don’t be distracted, and don’t distract
You’re invincible and you don’t want to learn that
The way that I did
This is an entry to Create Real Impact scholarship contest.