okay, i meant to post this two days ago when it happened, but it's been a busy weekend. now that it's sunday, however, i have a chance to reflect back on friday's motivational assembly. here we go:
so on friday everyone filed into the chief gym in order to watch another lame assembly. no one likes assemblies. not even pep assemblies; our school spirit sucks. but unless you're 18 and half the ability to sign yourself out, we're stuck with our butts glued to hard bleachers for an hour and a half.
let me tell you, i was hesitant going in there. i sat down and realized i should have signed myself out; i'm 18 and then i could have slept for a couple hours before leaving to ike. but i was stuck. so i chatted with my fellow seniors while waiting for the uber tall lady at center court to start talking. after awhile leo came on the mic and asked us all to be quiet and respectful for our guest speaker, cara filler.
she started her speech by asking us to close our eyes and think of the person that means the most to us. my mind flashed between faces of my best friends sitting around me and throughout the gym, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my family, my dad, and it eventually it settled on my brother ryan. she asked us what we would do if we lost this person, and then, with our eyes still closed, she played an audio clip and a hysterical woman screaming for her sister. her sister was dead. cara then told us that every word that woman spoke on the clip, was word for word what cara said to her sister as she watched her die. talk about impactful, right?
at that point i was hooked, zoned right in on this strangely relatable woman who spilled her life's tragedy to us without shedding a tear. the amount of strength she possess absolutely astounds me.
cara filler, a stranger, stood opposite the gym from me, and reached out and touched my heart. she spoke to us about choices, and how her sister would have survived if she had made a different choice. and since ryan was already in my head, it made me think of the decisions he's making with his life. i watch what he's doing, thinking that he's throwing his life away, and it kills me. but i would rather have him the way he is then not have him at all. i couldn't imagine life without him breaking my heart. it's all i know.
she also asked us to think about how we're driving: stop texting, slow it down, wear your seatbelt, be smart. excessive speeding can hurt, kill, other people not just yourself. that got me thinking. i lost my license for the latter half of my 17th year for two excessive speeding tickets. after seven months i was stoked to get back access to my car again. the reason why: i was tired of not having freedom. i swore that i would never take advantage of driving again, for all the wrong reasons. i just knew i never wanted to not be able to drive again. i wasn't worried about how i had put the people in the car with me in danger. they were some of my best friends, and i could have easily rolled my car. but i was never worried about that; i was just freaking out about how my dad was gonna be pissed. so now, i won't ever take advantage of driving again... for the right reasons.
thank you cara filler, for coming to our school, sharing your story, and everything you do. you are changing lives. you are saving lives.
and to those idiots who thought it would be awesome to fight in the middle of the assembly, i hope you're proud of yourselves because that is the most disrespectful act i have ever witnessed, and no one thinks that you're "cool" or whatever you were going for.
cara filler- the drive to save lives
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