When I was in the 6th grade I was almost hit by a car. It was one of the scariest things that had ever happened to me. It was also a moment that gave me a great realization and has made me think about the way I do things differently ever since.

It was a nice day at Depot Park, and very few people were there. My friends and I were riding bikes.  My bike was old, didn’t have brakes, and was pretty beat up. As my friends and I were riding around on the sidewalk and in the parking lot, we decided to cross the road from the parking lot to the park. We started crossing and everyone had already went up to the road to cross. It was my turn to cross the road and I thought to myself should I stop before I start crossing? Or should I try to get speed while crossing the road? In my mind I knew that it wouldn’t be good to get speed, but I did it anyway. I started getting speed and was going faster than ever, then when it came to the road I decided to stop at the last second by putting my foot on the wheel and it made a skirrrt noise. I could feel the rubber from the wheel scraping up against my shoe making my foot all hot. Luckily I had made the right decision to stop because as soon as I stopped, a car came zooming by! I was as scared as a deer in the headlights. I couldn’t move my body whatsoever and it felt as if my heart had skipped three beats. I was terrified for my life but at the same time I felt sort of relieved I wasn’t hit. I will never forget that moment as long as I live. I can picture the driver perfectly, it was a woman in her mid thirties driving a brand new Chevy SUV who was texting and driving. The woman was not paying attention to the road at all and had no idea I was even there. My friend shouted out  “What just happened?!” I then explained to him the situation. While telling him what had happened, it became clear to me that if I had made the decision to keep going and get some speed there is no doubt in my mind that I would have been hit by that car. During that short period of time between almost getting hit and talking to my friend I had realized that when making decisions I really need to think about the outcome as well as the choice. It was something as simple as crossing the road but one wrong move could have affected my entire life. So now every time I make a decision I think very carefully of all the possible outcomes of that choice. Even when I’m doing everyday activities such as playing sports, driving, and especially riding bikes. I have not been to Depot Park since then, but if I ever go back I plan on being more careful.