I believe that at any given time anything can happen to anyone. Often times we believe that we are indestructible, that nothing bad can happen to us. As a high school senior, no one believed this more than me. I never worried about doing reckless things or about the consequences that come with those reckless actions. I do now.

I was driving aimlessly down a main road, blaring my music loud enough to attract disgruntled stares from many older drivers and talking with my mom in the seat next to me while my brother sang along to the music on his iPod. I slowed down to a stop at a red light, when a sudden noise of cars crashing drew my attention. Accompanying the noise was an incredible jolt, strong enough to cause severe whiplash. My car skidded forward on the wet road from the force of the impact and then another crash pierced my ears and sent me flying back into my seat; I had hit the car in front of me and the ripple effect had caused two more cars to be hit as well. After catching my breath, my first reaction was to let out a string of profanities aimed towards the reckless driver that had nailed me. Another second later I turned to make sure everyone else was okay, then let out a sigh of relief when I realized no one was hurt. I quickly closed my eyes and realized that I had to get out and check the damage, knowing it wouldn't be pretty. My car, however, was the victor in an unfortunate battle with a much smaller car and I thanked God that my car didn't end up as bad as the other ones.

Several hours later, the cops arrested the man who hit me. He had been drinking. His poor choice had caused four other cars, four other drivers, to face an unnecessary crash. After my immediate anger had passed, I realized that I had seen this situation many times. Countless people I know make this unfortunate choice every weekend, believing that they'll be okay, and they usually are. But all it takes is that one time to cause you to injure others and land yourself in jail, or even worse, in a grave. This can happen to anyone, and you can be on either side of the situation, but either way, you're at risk just as much as the person next to you. Think what you want to think, but no one is invincible, and I no longer believe that I am.