True Life- It’s the end of a long, stressful Friday and I’m reflecting on the hectic week I just survived: Scholarship applications, homework, tests and quizzes galore. I can’t get over how excited I am to find my pretty little car in the parking lot and get home and relax for the next two days. The time finally comes to approach my car when, all of a sudden, the sky goes black, the dramatic theme music from “Jaws” begins to play as I come closer and closer…then finally, BAM! There’s a dent in my left bumper, a little paint from what I assume is a white car and a sizable gash in my heart.
There’s no note, no proof of any kind of decency, only my damaged car and an angry driver.
I understand it’s scary and that in some cases you might be late for class if you sit around and wait for the driver whose car you just hit to come out and see the damage; I’m not asking for you to give up your day. However, it being that a note can suffice in such situations, “I didn’t have time to wait around” isn’t a valid excuse.
It’s not a surprise that accidents such as this occur. We’re all jam-packed in a parking lot that hundreds of seniors rush out of every day. And if it was a sophomore who just started driving and accidentally hit me, freaked out, and ran, I might almost understand. However, in a seniors-only parking lot, that’s not that case. We’re adults, we can vote, we can fight for our country, it’s a lot of responsibility. We can take on all of that, but we can’t own up to hitting somebody’s car?
It’s simply a matter of respect; respect for one’s vehicle, respect for each other, and respect for ourselves. If we can’t man up and take responsibility for accidentally hitting a fellow student’s car, who are we going to be years from now? Eventually it won’t be as easy as telling a friend you backed into them by accident. Eventually it will be dealing with police and law suits. Hitting a vehicle and driving off is against the law. In the real world, if you do things like that and get caught, you’re looking at a court date.
It’s just like how some teenage kleptomaniacs can’t keep their hands off of fellow students’ belongings. It’s mind blowing to me to think that people I see in the hallway everyday could do things like steal precious jewelry from a classmate or find a $100 bill on the ground and never return it. Maybe it’s a phase, a “harmless”, inconsequential phase that will in time fade with age and maturity. Or maybe it’s a life decision made in high school. If this is the time to decide who we’re going to be, these incidents are crucial.
We need to look beyond ourselves and beyond the moment. Yeah, that car you hit in 12th grade might be an amusing anecdote in 10 years; that ring you stole on a dare will probably be misplaced in a matter of months, but that’s not the point. A crime is a crime no matter what age it’s committed at and while there might not be a punishment legally, there should be one morally.
Get over your “I’m 18, I can do whatever I want” complex. It’s selfish to hit a car and run away, it’s selfish to steal the watch of someone who treasured it or take the money of a girl who spent two months saving up. At 18, being selfish is immature and doesn’t fly in the real world, as I’m sure you’ll find out.
Every choice we make defines who we are going to be. We all know the difference between right and wrong; part of being an adult is choosing to do the right thing. Choose to do the right thing.