September 8, 2008, my senior year of high school had only been going for a few weeks. A sunny and warm Texas day, just past noon. The seniors had just been released for the day. My friend Preston and I were walking across the parking lot to his truck so that we could go meet some of our friends for lunch. Life was great. We had nothing to worry about. We loved getting out of school so much earlier than we had the years before.
As soon as we got to his truck, a red Ford F-150, a black Chevrolet Tahoe pulled up in front of us. Two girls I went to school with, Chelsea and Kourtney, jumped out. I did not really know Kourtney that well, but we had spoken some. Chelsea was a beautiful black girl who had been cheer-leading her whole life.
As they frantically ran up to me, I would never guess what had just happened.
“Dustin, have you heard about what happened this morning?” Chelsea asked.
“Yeah, about Mark killing himself?” I asked confusedly.
“No, about your mom and my aunt, Eva!”
“No, what have they done?” I jokingly asked with a slight grin on my face.
“They were in a bad wreck at 10 o' clock this morning on their way to Bonham!”
“Are you serious? Are they okay?” By that time my face had completely changed from joking with a grin to stricken with fear.
All of a sudden her voice cracked and tears began rolling down her face from her fear-filled eyes.
“They're all dead, even A'layzia, Eva's three-year-old daughter. They died on impact of the crash!”
In one instance, it seemed as if the sky became dark and gloomy and as if the world stopped spinning. A chill over took the warmth that the Sun had put off. Preston and I threw down our stuff and ran back into the school and over to the cafeteria to get my little brother and sister checked out of school.
Seeing my eyes in tears and my face in shock, I was instantly surrounded by teachers, principles, a counselor, and friends, all of whom were asking the same question, “What happened?”
I quickly told them what happened as my brother and sister came up to me. All four of us, including Preston were taken into the library to talk and to call my dad. Soon after that, the principle took us home.
It was in the moment of realizing I would never see my mom alive on Earth again, that I understood just exactly how fragile our lives are. It has changed me in a way that I will never take someone for granted again, because I never know if I will see them again to apologize. I always say goodbye to my friends because it may be the last. I do not speed or text in the car. It is not worth it to lose my life. I always wear a seat-belt and stay conscious of the drivers around me. I have also made a dedication of my life to saving others.
As soon as we got to his truck, a red Ford F-150, a black Chevrolet Tahoe pulled up in front of us. Two girls I went to school with, Chelsea and Kourtney, jumped out. I did not really know Kourtney that well, but we had spoken some. Chelsea was a beautiful black girl who had been cheer-leading her whole life.
As they frantically ran up to me, I would never guess what had just happened.
“Dustin, have you heard about what happened this morning?” Chelsea asked.
“Yeah, about Mark killing himself?” I asked confusedly.
“No, about your mom and my aunt, Eva!”
“No, what have they done?” I jokingly asked with a slight grin on my face.
“They were in a bad wreck at 10 o' clock this morning on their way to Bonham!”
“Are you serious? Are they okay?” By that time my face had completely changed from joking with a grin to stricken with fear.
All of a sudden her voice cracked and tears began rolling down her face from her fear-filled eyes.
“They're all dead, even A'layzia, Eva's three-year-old daughter. They died on impact of the crash!”
In one instance, it seemed as if the sky became dark and gloomy and as if the world stopped spinning. A chill over took the warmth that the Sun had put off. Preston and I threw down our stuff and ran back into the school and over to the cafeteria to get my little brother and sister checked out of school.
Seeing my eyes in tears and my face in shock, I was instantly surrounded by teachers, principles, a counselor, and friends, all of whom were asking the same question, “What happened?”
I quickly told them what happened as my brother and sister came up to me. All four of us, including Preston were taken into the library to talk and to call my dad. Soon after that, the principle took us home.
It was in the moment of realizing I would never see my mom alive on Earth again, that I understood just exactly how fragile our lives are. It has changed me in a way that I will never take someone for granted again, because I never know if I will see them again to apologize. I always say goodbye to my friends because it may be the last. I do not speed or text in the car. It is not worth it to lose my life. I always wear a seat-belt and stay conscious of the drivers around me. I have also made a dedication of my life to saving others.
