Life is full of impulse choices. Sometimes a choice should take someone hours of careful thought but human nature gets in the way. To define a person by that choice is thoughtless. All the people that come into contact with us on a daily basis are examples that second chances do exist. We all are the people we are today because of second chances. I have been greatly changed by second chances in my life but one stands out above the rest.

On February 26th of 2010 I was presented with the most influential choice of my life. I didn’t know that at the time and I also didn’t know I chose wrong; I chose not to wear a helmet. The world I knew had all but been destroyed. All had come to an end because of a long boarding accident that nobody had the slightest clue what happened. I had to be emergency transported from the initial emergency room to a better hospital because I had a five inch skull fracture, one sub dermal hematoma, concussions on every inch of my brain, and critical pressures in my head because of all the blood from the burst veins. The doctors thought they would have to drill through my skull to release the pressures on my brain.  All my grades and sports accomplishments became nothing when I had to relearn proper social skills and how to walk in the hospital. It became really depressing and lonely in the hospital; I was getting bad news over and over again and no one could visit me because I had no idea who anyone was, let alone myself half the time.

Time was moving so fast while I grasped all the consequences of my decision, but the world around me seemed to stand still. All that I had previously been working on in my life was thrown out the window; I couldn’t go back to high school, college was on pause indefinitely, I was banned from all my sports for life, and I couldn’t do anything more active than walk for fear of hitting my head. It took about a month for me to finally come to terms with all that was taken away.

Once my depressed and contemplative month out of the hospital was over I went back in for a checkup.  At the checkup my brain specialist was amazed to see how far I had come since she had last seen me. I was healing incredibly fast. They were recalling some of the bad news I had received during the first couple of weeks since my accident; the news that I had spent the last month of my life contemplating. Suddenly they said I would be going to college only a year late, I would be able to play non-contact sports, and I could get my license again. I finally had the second chance I had given up hope on, and that second chance changed my life.

Realization smacked me in the face just as life had a couple months earlier. What I thought was the worst thing to ever happen to me suddenly became the best.  All of my friends were stuck in the high school/ college age kids’ school of thought; everyone is invincible and the only thing that matters is when the next party is. I had the rarest honor of being woken up, which is a present that will last my entire life.  Every breath I take is a priceless gift; every person in my family is worth more than anything on this materialistic planet; every smile can go a million miles for someone. The second chance from what could have been the worst choice in my life now defines me.

There is no action possible which is so bad that it prevents someone from getting a second chance. People should never underestimate the affect a tragic situation can have on someone. Before my accident, I would have spent Christmas relishing in family time and food. This year, I donated more time and money to charities than I would have ever considered in the past and it was the greatest Christmas I could ever ask for. People everywhere are just begging for someone to give them that look of understanding after they mess up. If more people thought that second chances were available, everyone would be surrounded by individuals striving to succeed, grow, and thrive. You never know just how much someone can change from a second chance.