Reality

Welcome back to Taylor Talks!

This week, I’ve been staying with my former roommate for a mini-vacation. Tonight, we decided we would take a drive and go to the movies. We’re going to see the new movie, “If I Stay,” based on the book of the same name by Gayle Forman. I remember reading the book about a month after I turned sixteen. I had taken my permit test on my birthday, and had only been driving for that short amount of time before I read this incredible book about a family impacted by a car accident. It really shook me.

My aunt was killed in a car accident when I was just four years old. She was in the passenger seat and was hit from the side. The impact of that accident was in the front of my mind when I started driving, but I tried to push past it and I was able to learn to drive. After I read “If I Stay” and another book with a similar car accident theme, it scared me again. I stopped driving for about a month. My parents couldn’t figure out why I wouldn’t drive anymore, and finally I had to sit down with them and explain what happened. My parents told me that driving was a right of passage for growing up, and I needed to get over my fears. I was able to do so, and had no problem with driving.

In my sophomore year of college, I was driving home on the NYS thruway and I spun out. I ended up facing the opposite direction in a ditch along the side of the road. It was the scariest moment of my life. But I lived through it. I didn’t have a scratch on me. I knew that somehow my aunt was watching over me that day. When my mom picked me up and took me home, I realized how lucky I was to have such a big family who loved me so much. Everyone hugged me and watched over me, checking to make sure I was alright. I felt so loved, and was really proud to be part of my family.

I’m not sure how I’ll react to this movie tonight. Will it bring up all of these old feelings? Have I been through enough now to be okay with it? I guess I’ll find out in a little while. But I know now that everyone goes through rough times, and that family is the only way to get through a bad experience.

Has your family helped you through a horrible time? Have you bonded over something bad? Tell me in the comments.

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Thanks!
Taylor

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