by:Hannah Alvarez
Before I continue, I want to point out that everybody probably has days that change their life so my experience may not be uncommon, but for me as someone who has never gotten a ticket or done anything car related that could put myself in harms way I would consider this day and three-week experience life changing.Â
Never in a million years would I have thought that at the end of October I would have gotten into a car accident that would ultimately lead to not only a new car, but a new appreciation on life since I could have gotten seriously injured. Though I was safe and I knew there was going to be difficulties, I did not believe that every worst possible scenario would have come true, at least for the most part. I did not believe that I would lose my car, I did not believe that I would have to get a new one, I definitely did not believe the cost to repair was going to be that high either. In the end, the car that held so many memories from the time I turned 16 and got my license to now just vanished in less than a second because I thought nothing terrible was going to happen to me. I write this article, now, Friday, November 15th telling you guys I finally said good by to my safe place. My car, is my safe space or at least I thought so.Â
I say I thought so because after the accident, I didn’t really know if I could consider my car my safe place anymore. I understand that many people like myself who are in college may consider their car their safe place where they can be alone, but knowing with the snap of a finger your safe place could turn into a death trap depending how bad a crash is, is terrifying. This experience has opened my eyes as a person and if you are reading this article I want to you to think about why your car is your safe space. If it is because nothing bad has happened to you, you may want to reconsider because I was in the same boat just over a month ago.Â
Having to deal with a car accident is not fun, by any means, but having to do it alone is even worse. Having to call multiple people within the insurance company, and having to deal with repair shops is never fun, but it is even worse when all they say is “We have decided to consider your car a total loss of a car” which basically means insurance will not pay for repairs because it would just be cheaper to give you the money of what the car is worth. Crazy to hear when you hear how much the car is worth and repairs would be even more than that.Â
In the end, I just want to say that I am thankful for a second chance at life because I could have gotten seriously injured and I am thankful that this happened so if it were to happen in the future i know what to do, but for a 20 year old girl this was definitely life changing.