Hope is Never Lost 

It was a sunny and hot day in northern Michigan. The delightful sounds of hummingbirds repeated throughout the vast forest. The sun was glistening off the lake. The sweet smell of pine trees rose through the air. In the distance trees stretched for miles. Ring, Ring, Ring! The sound echoed in my stomach. Her hand reached for the vibrating phone. In my gut, I could tell something was wrong when I heard the words

“Oh no!” come out of her mouth. 

After she said that, that’s when I knew something bad happened. My heart jumped around in my chest when the mom of the family we were in Michigan with told us in the car that my family had gotten in a serious car crash. Thousands of thoughts developed through my head. Was my family ok? Did anyone get hurt? Did a tragedy occur? We were heading back in the car from a long hot day on the sand dunes. It seemed like everyone was exhausted. This is the worst thing that could’ve happened. I was anticipating the worst. It would be heartbreaking if a family member of our family was sectored away from us. As we get closer and closer to the scene of the accident my heart starts to pump faster and faster. My right leg starts to shudder up and down. The trees sprinted across the window of the car as the car got closer and closer to the scene. Sweat dripped from my head as if it was raining. Shards of glass shine across the street. A sense of urgency rose throughout the car. In the distance, I could see flashing red and blue lights. The noise of the ambulance sirens exploded in my ears. I could hear the calls of orders from police officers and firemen throughout the intersection.

“Run, they need help!” the firefighter shouts. All that I could think about in my head was if my family was ok. Would this be the moment that I lose a member of my family? Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see the back end of our shiny black suburban crumbled. My heart plummeted in my stomach. In the distance, I saw my family huddled up in a hug. My feet launched off towards them. The warm Michigan air flew over my shoulders. The warm summer gravel beneath me crunched as I sprinted. As soon as I saw that my family was ok, weight was lifted off my shoulders. My family was safe. At that moment I knew that this could’ve ended badly and that I was grateful that my family was safe and sound. Tears ran down my sister's face and I could see in her eyes how traumatic the situation had been for her. I immediately went over to comfort her and my family. I was extremely grateful that my family was ok. I also talked to my dad about the accident and he said that they were taking a right through an intersection when a car had run the light and clipped the back end of our car. I was so glad my family was safe. In the intersection, the sour smell of the ripped rubbered tires stung my nose. The ambulance sirens disappeared. The hummingbirds stopped chirping as the night began to fall. The bright police lights vanished. The scene started to die down. My heartbeat slowed down knowing that everyone was ok

We all hopped in and our friends cared to go home as the peaceful sunset in the distance. The cool wind ran through my hair as we drove. my thoughts wandered through my head as I sat in the back seat of their car. This is an event that I would remember for the rest of my life. Times like these have lasting effects on how you look at life. From that day forward I became more grateful for my family. It showed me how precious family and life are. It allowed me to understand that your family members at any second of your life can leave you and it's very important to love and cherish every moment of your life with them.