We Are Not Invincible

This weekend marked the first ever annual "It Won't Happen to Me" walk-a-thon. There were friends and families from all over, who had teenagers that have died in car accidents, come and join us in this walk of remembrance. As we walked the path, there were several pictures of teenagers who have lost their lives in the number one killer of teens. Looking at their pictures, I realized how many of their stories I knew by reading the 1st and 2nd edition of the IWHTM books. What is heartbreaking about most of these stories is that when these teens were killed... they weren't doing anything wrong. Most of them were just driving home from work, heading home from a friends house, and some (like Megan) were just passengers in a car. Most of them were killed because of someone elses mistakes, distractions, carelessness, etc.

WE ARE NOT INVINCIBLE.

It CAN happen to you.

It only takes one second. One text. One phone call. One distraction. NEVER, ever are these distractions more important than someone elses life. I am so very grateful for the new texting law that MO has issued for its teens. Personally, I think that this should have been issued to EVERYONE and not just teenagers, but that is a whole different ball park.

It's like I've been told, and what I tell my friends every time I hear of them texting while driving. "You can wait 10 minutes for a stupid text message. Because it never has been and never will be worth someone elses life."
I loved this way of remembering my best friend and bringing to the attention of teens all of the seriousness of America's "silent tragedy".
I'm excited to start working more closely with IWHTM and promoting this at Staley. I want all of them to know too.

Love, Hunter Bug