Invincible
Hello again!
I have some very exciting news to share!! Just last week I
was asked to not only attend, but speak at, the Northern Lights SADD (Students
Against Destructive Decisions) conference at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
While SADD is a very inclusive group, dealing with alcohol, tobacco, and
driving, I spoke specifically about the results of a bad driving decision and
shared Jared’s story with the audience of 700. I could not have asked to speak
to a better group. These kids were so fired up, and were all
very receptive to my story. The comfortable, supporting atmosphere truly made
me feel like I was reaching my peers. After telling my story I left them with a
very matter-of-fact thought that I would like to share with you all…
“You know as
teenagers we seem to have this urge to want to learn lessons on our own, but
please don’t learn this lesson the hard way. Take Jared’s story and learn from
it. It may seem like a small decision to just hop in someone’s car, but it
could mean the difference of you being alive tomorrow. Too many times we think
we are invincible, that nothing bad can touch us. Well guess what. Statistics prove that statement
wrong. Statistics show that it could happen to us tomorrow, it could happen to
us today.”
After concluding with this final statement, that we are not
invincible, there was an eerie silence that filled the room shortly before the
round of applause. This presence of silence was exactly what I wanted to hear, more
so than the applause; the silence proved to me that I had made them think.
I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite TV
shows, One Tree Hill. Lucas said “Sometimes when
you're young you think nothing can hurt you. It's like being invincible. Your
whole life is ahead of you and you have big plans. Big Plans. But as you get
older you realize it's not always that easy. It's not until the end of your
life that you realize how the plans you made where simply plans. Because at the
end when you're looking back instead of forward you want to believe you made
the most of what life gave you. You want to believe you're leaving something
good behind. You want it all to have mattered”
Make EVERY day matter.
Olivia
Miss Teen ND International 2012
