No Promise For Tomorrow
In December of 1993, at age 9, I was involved in a serious car accident. My life and my perspective of the world changed dramatically from that moment on. A close family member was badly hurt and I spent Christmas that year in a state of complete shock. However, despite the trauma and pain I experienced, I learned that there are kind souls eager to help in this cynical world, and that life is too precious to waste. “Sit down and put your seatbelt on”, my mother yelled from the front of our dirty white minivan. Buzzing with a sugar high from stuffing my mouth with candies at lunch, I reluctantly complied and made myself sit still long enough to buckle up. My mom, brother, and I were on our way from Georgia to Tennessee to visit relatives for the holidays; I couldn’t have been more excited. The backseat was filled with shiny, wrapped packages and boxes of toys. All I wanted to do was get to our destination and eye all the packages that were sure to be waiting at my aunt’s house. Somehow I calmed down long enough to lay back and listen to my brother’s favorite band screeching on the CD player. “I’ll just close my eyes for a few minutes,” I thought while cuddling up with my favorite singing teddy bear. I fell asleep in no time at all and began dreaming of all the fun times that would begin as soon as I arrived at our destination. All of a sudden my head jerked violently and my eyes flew open. I looked at the window, but all I could see was pavement and then clouds, pavement and then clouds- over and over. I began to panic and realized our van was flipping.