We've all done something stupid in our lives. A lot of times, stuff like this happens when you're younger. Back when you were wild and care free. Back when you think you can live forever. Back when you didn't know better.
There's always a consequence to every action. There's always a lesson to be learned from every situation.
Here's a story of how I learned to take it easy and take some time to ensure I am 100% ready before going somewhere.
The year was 2014. It was late August.
I had been scheduled to work an early morning shift to staff the marathon event held by the theme park I was working at.
There were no problems being scheduled this shift. It was just a little bit earlier than what I was used to. If I remember correctly, the shift started at 5am. We were off by 10am.
A Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles branch just opened up near work. My friends and I wanted to check it out. I've never had it before but I heard it was really popular in Los Angeles.
We planned on meeting up after this shift and have an early lunch at this new place.
The problem? I was dead tired from partying the night before and then having to work an early shift the next day.
I didn't go crazy the night before, though. Just had enough drinks to have a good time. Just had enough food to fill me up. The big issue here was the time I called it a night. It was way past midnight. Maybe 2, even 3 in the morning. I just remember sleeping in my car for a few hours at a parking lot somewhere before getting ready for work.
Thank God there were shower rooms I could use before my shifts at work start.
We all showed up to the newly opened restaurant after my work shift. As expected, considering this branch just opened, there was a long line of people waiting to get in to eat.
We had waited at least an hour before we were seated. I remember saying "I just want coffee" when the waitress apologized for the long wait and asked how we were doing. I had both my hands on my face when I said that so I wasn't sure how I really sounded like.
According to my friends though, I sounded rude, demanding, and pissed off. I am sorry, I did not do that on purpose. Maybe I just sounded tired, but I will never be rude to anyone, especially to the people serving my food.
I eventually had my coffee and my meal. We enjoyed our lunch and had a great time.
I was ready to go home shortly after we had finished our meal. It was noon time, and it was hot, and I just wanted to go home and sleep after a long night and an early shift.
As I was heading home, driving eastward on the freeway, I started to feel sleepy. Like really sleepy. I remember my eyes shutting even though I tried so hard to stay awake.
There was traffic on the freeway, too. The slow drive made me feel even more exhausted.
I was 2 exits away from home when it happened..... crash! All the airbags in my car activated just split seconds after the collision!
What the heck happened?
I fell asleep while driving and rear-ended the car in front of me!
Thankfully, there wasn't much damage to the car I hit but as you can see in the picture, my car's front bumper was in pretty bad shape.
I believe the radiator was damaged too and I struggled to turn the engine back on just to move the car to the side of the road.
I exchanged information including insurance with the driver of the car I hit.
It was a minor accident but I am so glad it wasn't worse. No one got hurt.
I stayed in the car until my brother and my cousin arrived to come get me as we waited for the tow truck to take my vehicle to a repair shop.
I stayed quiet, contemplating at what had just happened.
I vowed to myself never to do anything stupid like this ever again.
Lesson learned. No more being reckless.
It wasn't the partying, it wasn't the early shift. For sure it wasn't the time spent with friends after work.
It's about ensuring I had plenty of rest and was fully prepared to drive from one place to another.
For my safety and for others'.