Life Changing Moments

  There are many moments in life that have lasting effects on people. People become who they are because of the events that happen throughout their lifetime. Throughout my life there have been many defining moments. However I feel that most of the moments that make you a better person are moments that you can learn from. One moment that I learned from was when I just got my license at the age of sixteen. I was young and wreck less and happy to be behind the wheel of a car. In my opinion I was too young to get my license, as are many kids today. A sixteen year old boy does not have the maturity to be in control of an automobile. As soon as I got my car I wanted to go fast and race my friends around town. I looked at getting a car as more of a toy rather than a tool to get me from point A to point B. I was surely going to lose my license at the rate that I was going until one night in October. This is not a horrible story that will affect people or change their outlook on life. However this did have a lasting impact on how I look at my life and the choices that I make. I was driving north on the highway in a 2001 Nissan Maxima. I then accelerated my speed to over one hundred miles per hour and soon realized that there was a cop behind me going the same speed that I was. He pulled me over and was extremely aggravated when he approached my door. However after talking to me for over ten minutes he informed me that he was not going to issue me a ticket because he lost his ticket book that day. He told me to go home and then sent me on my way. This experience greatly affected the manner in which I drive. However, I also realize that I am lucky that I did not harm myself or others. When driving at those speeds the smallest bump could send you out of control. I am lucky because I am sure that there have been many instances of people driving at those speeds who end up crashing or getting arrested. The moment I pulled out of the breakdown lane I instantly knew that this was going to be a moment that changed my life because I realize that things could have gone differently. I do not think that I was mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving a car. In my opinion I think that kids should have to wait until they are eighteen years old to get their license. I think that many kids today can’t handle that responsibility. The majority of my friends crashed their cars within the first year of getting their licenses because they were doing something that was irresponsible. Kids who are just getting their licenses need to understand that a vehicle is not a toy but more of a tool. I think that if I fully understood that when I first got my license that I would not have made the mistakes that I did.