Last week I got in my first car wreck, and I had no idea what to do.

I ran off the side of the road, hit a sign, ran over the sign, went into a ditch and continued to roll into a yard before I realized what had even happened. I think I had my eyes closed, or I just blacked out completely.

Either way I was extremely scared and even more scared of what the damage was to Grace, my car. With this being my first accident and being completely alone, I did the first thing I thought of, and I called the last person I saw.

I had just got done with practice, so I called my friend, told him what happened and asked him if he could come back. Without hesitation he came back, which I was so thankful for.

Along with my friend that I called, over half of our team had either came by to make sure I was okay or they called me to check on me. Four of them stayed with me in the freezing cold, on the side of the road until everything was taken care of. In the moment, I was just thankful to be alive because my accident could’ve been so much worse.

After Grace got towed away and I was safe and warm in my friend’s car all, I could think of was how awesome these friends of mine were. I am a freshman this year, which means I have known these fantastic friends of mine for less than two months.

They could have easily not cared about what happened to me simply because they barely know me. But they didn’t.

They took me in as a friend and a little sister in some ways. They made it clear that nothing was going to happen to me if it was up to them. I have a lot of friends from my hometown, but I can only think of a few that would truly do anything for me.

And to have over 10 people here, where I have been for less than two months, truly care about me and be willing to go out of their way to help me, is incredible.

Throughout my life I have never been the type to take anything or anyone forgranted, but after an incident like this I not only will continue to do this, but I want others to think twice about the relationships they have, too.

If you call yourself a friend and say that you have friends please be willing to help them when they are in need. Do not take them for granted. Most importantly do not be the one that takes and takes and never gives back. With some friends I feel like they use me for my nice and loving personality only when they need something.

Any other time they just ignore me or casually talk to me. I have made it my personal goal to never make someone else feel like this. I challenge you to do the same.

Next time you have a friend in need consider the situation if it were flipped and you were the one in need. Because nobody wants to be stranded on the side of the road.