I read a book one day about choosing the road you want to take in life.

The main character, a teenage boy named Jared, made a mistake that altered his life for good. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, the here and now. 

We tell ourselves just one more. Just one more drink. Just one more hit. Just. One. More.

A party that could have been avoided. It was just for fun right? What’s the harm? 

Instead of choosing a path to success, an inevitable path of despair and misery was your fate. 

Time slipping through your worn fingers, rushing like Niagara Falls. 

If the water was never calm, why did you choose to make more waves? 

Opening a book, a new chapter in our lives.

Do we want to be remembered for that one-night speeding through the intersection, striking the side of the young soul that had so much more to live and experience? 

On the outside, we put on brave faces every day, pushing back the tears and trying to stay strong. 

Continuing to go on like nothing ever happened. 

The truth is, life will never be the same. 

That average Friday night turned into a day of regret. Questioning why we didn’t try to stop him. 

Only really understand when the doors to the funeral home open.

Flowers were placed around the room. Around the casket. Your final resting place.

The long faces of family, friends, neighbors. Tired and filled with grief. 

A mother reaches out. Crying. She wanted nothing more than to just know you were safe.

A crowd of people all dressed in black. 

Showing their gratitude and celebrating the life cut short by one little mistake. 

The mistake could have been avoided if the fun you had that night had been kept in check. 

The way we live is how we choose yet when told to “live life to the fullest,” do we read between the lines or the fine print? 

No, because why do we need to? The unexpected won’t happen to me, right?