&life can't be taken for granted

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09 July 2004 @ 10:36 am

this girl died along a stretch of road i drive through every morning, the southern expressway. it's a freeway that takes you to the city, at 100km an hour, and somehow, this girl's death just makes me incredibly sad. she was almost my age, just driving to work in the morning the way she usually did. it could have been any one of my friends. it could have been me. and i drive past that site twice a day and on the way home last night i saw the big bouquet of flowers left by the side of the road and it almost made me cry.

how would you feel if one of your friends was suddenly taken away like that, no warning, no premonition? no time to say goodbye. she was changing lanes, i think, and she clipped the back of a truck and lost control, colliding into another car and dying virtually on impact. it could have happened to anyone.

2 years ago a couple of friends of R's were killed up in the adelaide hills, a kilometre from where one of them lived. the driver fell asleep at the wheel; one of the passengers survived, the other 2 died. they were 19 years old.

what would you do if somehow you knew you were going to die on a certain day? if you knew that when you got up and got dressed and had your breakfast, it would be your last time doing those things? kiss your family goodbye, realising this was goodbye forever, not just for a few hours. what would you do if you knew time was running out, that you didn't have forever after all? what would you do?

this girl wanted to travel a bit later on in life; she said, "i'll do that later on." but what happens if later never comes? what would you change if you could look back and see the things you didn't do? would you change anything? or could you say that you have lived life the best way you could, that you had no regrets or longings?

this sort of event brings everything into a reality; we're young but we're not invincible. we think we've got forever to do the things we want to do, live the dreams we create for ourselves, be the people we'd like to be. but what if we don't have forever after all? wouldn't you say, live life to the full... live with no chance for regrets? maybe we need to stop putting off the things we want to do one day, stop dreaming of the future and live those dreams right now. take each day as a gift and not a certainty, take nothing for granted but the very moment we're in.

i didn't know this girl but her death has certainly opened my eyes, made me think about life and death and everything in between. her life was cut short so tragically and swiftly; but her death won't be in vain. she's reminded me how precious every moment is and how nothing can ever be taken for granted. we're here, right now - lets live life the best way we can because maybe tomorrow, we won't be.

rest in peace, alison.

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6 comments —

( 6 comments — Leave a comment )

sea_fae on July 9th, 2004 01:12 am (UTC)

it seems like every week, at least one person is killed on a local highway around here, sometimes several. two of the people i graduated high school with were killed in car accidents on highways i drive on. it just seems like there's so many, there's a really high chance that someday it will be a friend or family member or even myself.

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fantasticmuppet on July 9th, 2004 12:43 pm (UTC)

God, I've been thinking about things like this so much lately and I think it's driving me crazy.

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ontheseams on July 9th, 2004 12:57 pm (UTC)

I've been reading your public entries for a while and they're always inspiring-- judging by your journal and your letters I've seen in

theletterchain you are a beautiful person. Would you mind if I added you? :) xxx

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kisstheviolets on July 10th, 2004 05:32 am (UTC)

oh you are a sweetheart ! of course it's okay, and i'll add you also :)
xxx

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ashes2ashes614 on July 9th, 2004 02:15 pm (UTC)

Your entry reminded me of a line from a Dave Matthews Band song:

The future is no place to place your better days.

I don't know why, but that came to mind.

At any rate, I lost a friend to a freak accident like that in high school. He was only in his third year of high school. So I've thought about what you're thinking about a lot. That kind of thing is traumatic when you're younger. But, in the midst of all the awfulness that surrounded that event, some wonderful things happened. We were all in marching band together, and we all became so much closer as a result of the accident. We weren't afraid to tell each other we loved each other. We began to deal with our own mortality and were able to live our lives to the fullest. This, unfortunately, also happened a little less than a month after September 11. Some of the best and most valuable life lessons and friends came as a result of those two awful events.

I don't know if you believe in a higher power or whatnot, but I truly believe everything happens for a reason. And I have to keep telling myself there is good in every situation, regardless of how hopeless and awful it may seem.

I don't know if that helped at all. I hope it did.

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starlightrayne on July 13th, 2004 06:28 pm (UTC)

That is so sad. Stories like thsi are so heart-breaking and bring me back to earth, it reminds me that even though we all fill our lives with stress and plans it could all be taken away. it's a scary and sad thought for me.

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