During the spring break of 2007, something happened to me that changed my life forever. I had just turned sixteen and had received my driver’s license a week before. It was the Friday before we had to return to school, and I took Brittany (my girlfriend at the time) to the movies. Instead of going to theater in Kent, we decided to have a nice dinner and go to the movies in Hudson.
After the movie we were ready to head home, I pulled out of the parking lot across two lanes of a four lane highway. I was sitting in the median waiting to make a left turn and was sticking out a little. Unfortunately, we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and a woman driving a large SUV ended up swerving right into the driver’s side of my car. My car (a large Oldsmobile that belonged to my grandfather) was spun about by the impact and thrown a hundred feet down the road.
The EMT staff told me I blacked out. I ended up in the emergency room with broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and a severed urethra. I had to have corrective surgery and was hospitalized for a week. I was sent home to recover and was basically in a wheelchair for another month and a half. I didn’t return to school until mid-May. Now I’m fine – everything I had broken has healed.
Although this was a horrible incident, I still consider it one of the most important and meaningful events of my life. After the accident I became much closer to my family and friends.
I stopped taking life for granted. I was given a glimpse of my own mortality and because of that the accident had some unintended consequences.
Because of the accident, I had to retake a chemistry class. This eventually led to me becoming a part of a STEM program called ISLS. Participation in ISLS provided me with the opportunity to meet new friends, make educational conference presentations, and earn scholarships.
Finally, during my time in bed rest I also further developed my interest in computers and software programming. This led me to more serious software development gigs, two Google SoC internships, and my eventual job with Automattic.
Strangely, I now consider my potentially tragic car accident a major path-changer. The accident not only threw my car down the road, it
inadvertently shoved me onto a life path that I am now extremely happy with. It’s amazing how one moment can have such a big impact on your life and how these moments happen for no reason other than pure chance.
