I was driving along recently, starting my day to the tunes of HOT 103.9 FM, when I rounded a curve, lost control, and finally crashed into the border of a bridge crossing over a major highway. It all happened too quickly, too unexpectedly, and afterwards, all I could think about was how I almost died at the age of 22 in one split second of poor judgment.

I had spent the night at a friend's house in Columbia to avoid driving home too late and falling asleep on the highway. I had taken that chance many times before, but thought that I was being extra responsible this time by choosing to wait until morning to go home. Still, I crashed. And afterwards, I thought how ironic it was that the very thing that I had been trying to avoid the night before had happened anyway. Although I had not fallen asleep, I had been just as irresponsible as I would have been had I left the night before by, instead, speeding around a curve on the damp pavement of an elevated bridge. For the rest of the day, I reflected on what had happened and why it had happened, because after all, everything happens for a reason.

So what was God trying to tell me? What life lesson was I supposed to take from this potentially fatal situation? These are questions that, at age 22, I did not ask myself often. Until now, I had lived life for the moment, taking frequent flights and road trips to vacation spots with my friends and partying like there was no tomorrow. I acted and made decisions without thinking, and with this accident, I began to question whether that was the way I should continue to live.

Every time I leave my house, whether to run to the bank or take a trip out of state, my mom says, "Brittany, be careful." Every single time. And every time I make a mistake, whether it be overdrafting my bank account or, in this case, totaling a car, my dad says, "Brittany, use your head." These things, which normally go in one ear and out of the other, are things that I now realize I should take heed of if I want to live beyond the age of 25.

My dad always says that I live life as if I know everything there is to know, and now, more than ever, I realize how right he is. So I'm writing this to thank him for all the advice I never listened to and to assure him that I will be "using my head" from here on out. I write this also to encourage others my age to think a little bit more than we're used to doing. If this column makes just one person decide against doing just one risky thing that he or she was considering, then it has served its purpose. Taking chances and leading exciting lives is what we live for, but without taking a little time to think about the consequences of some of the things we do, we won't have a life to live. Of course, it may be a little less fun to have to exercise caution in everything you do, but think of what you'll be gaining: another day or year of life without incident or injury, all because you thought before you acted.

If I had lost my life in this car accident, I would have many regrets. I waste way too many hours on Facebook everyday, hold way too many grudges, and take way too many things and people for granted. I'm sure that if faced with a life-threatening situation, you, too, would realize that there are many things you would like to do or change in your lifetime. So, in the words of my mother, "be careful," and in the words of my dad, "use your head." You could save a life -- your own -- by doing so. After all, you only have one life to live. Think about it.

Brittany Robinson is a graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School and Yale University. She was recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and will travel to Hong Kong in August for a year of teaching and independent study.

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