I'm not sure why I text and drive. I never did when I was in high school and it is a new habit. Everything in Syracuse is within a 15-minute drive. I've done everything with a phone while driving. Texted and drove. Talked on the phone and drove. FaceTimed and drove. Snapchatted and drove. Taken a picture and drove. Again, I'm not sure why I did all these things. And again, everything in Syracuse is within a 15-minute drive so clearly that text can wait, right? It can wait.
I know my life is the most important thing I have and the thought that I do something as dumb as text and drive scares and saddens me. I never text and drive when anyone else is in the car because I would never want to hurt them so why can't I think like that when it's just me?
I know that people can probably tell that I'm texting because I'm the dumb teenager continuously taking my eyes off the road. It's not like I'm texting Barack Obama, or I'd probably disregard my bad habit. I usually let my phone ride shotgun and that's the problem. I get in the car and say, "Oh, I'll just leave it there, face-up and it won't distract me at all."
I used to curse at the people who text and drive and now I am part of that scary statistic. There's nothing I could say to my friends, mom, dad, sister that CAN'T wait but for some reason I find it unbearable to let it wait. It's embarrassing that I text and drive. Can you imagine the guilt of causing an accident by texting? My friend Jenna even caught me texting at a red light when she was in the next lane. She tooted her horn to get my attention and the worst part is the text was to her.
It's obvious that I've seen the campaigns, heard the horror stories and watched crying parents at high school assemblies. But maybe I was texting when I was supposed to be absorbing this information. I've been THAT person holding up traffic after the light turns green. The problem is, I don't want to text and drive, it just happens (like many things in life, perhaps).
I had never made a New Year's resolution before but this year I decided to give it a go. My resolutions were to stop texting and driving and to stop flirting with a certain guy friend who I knew had a girlfriend. I succeed at both, but ultimately failed at each. The first few weeks of the new year went smoothly, not sending a single text while driving, then I went to school and didn't drive for four months until May. A flawless record. (I would end up breaking the other resolution quicker and with no remorse at all.)
This time next week I'll be without a car for another four months at school so I'm hoping this will help to keep the good habit going. It worked for the obvious reason that I didn't have access to a car. I have been getting better at avoiding the phone while driving, even leaving my phone in my purse at times. I will admit to texting while driving this summer and I will admit that the text was never worth it. I didn't have an ephiphany or a life changing moment but I'm learning a text can wait.