In my barn, hanging on the wall is a snowmobile bumper. It’s black metal with red stripes on the sides and the word Polaris in white. It used to be straight in the front and curved at the ends to take on the shape of the front of the machine. It no longer has this shape. Now the front curves in about a foot and takes on a shape that is similar to the outside of a tree. This is because a tree is what I crashed the snowmobile into that the bumper belonged to. Also much of the front of the bumper has scuffed and chipped paint.
My family has four snowmobiles. Snowmobiling was always one of my favorite things to do when it snowed and had been until one night. I was riding with my brother and his friend on the old train tracks like we usually do. I knew all of the trails because we’ve ridden them plenty of times. My brother was leading, I was in the middle, and my brothers’ friend was in the back. We weren’t flying through the trails on this particular night, but we were moving along at a good pace. The next thing I remembered, I was sliding face down through the snow, trying to catch my breath while snow was being shoved into my mouth. I finally came to a stop, got up, and looked behind me only to see my sled slammed up against a tree. I ran back to it and didn’t know what to do. My brother and his friend were both back by the sled, and at this point, asking if I was ok and what happened. I said I was fine, but had no idea what happened. I just sort of got thrown from my snowmobile and went sliding through the snow. Well I called my dad to bring the trailer and we towed the sled to the road. We also found out that there was a log under the snow that I clipped with my ski and this is what threw me from the sled. After thinking about the crash and the speed that my sled hit the tree at, it may actually have been a life saving factor that I was thrown off. If not, I most likely would’ve gone head first into the tree at around 50 or 60 mph and even wearing a helmet I could’ve been seriously injured or killed.
After putting a lot of thought into these possibilities I decided to rethink my decisions and I realized that everyone that has ever tried to warn kids about dangers in life is absolutely right. We as teenagers are not invincible. We always think that we can do anything we want and that nothing is going to happen to us, but really it can. We are just as likely to get killed as a 90 year old man. This was the point in my life that I decided I need to change.
Every day as I walk out to my truck I can see into the barn where that mangled bumper hangs. This is a great reminder to me of how lucky I was and how I want to stay. When I think about that I decide that when I’m going out somewhere I should leave a little early so I don’t have to drive real fast. If I am late it’s better to be five or ten minutes late than to get in an accident. I know that this may sound corny to the readers because I sound like an after school special. This is what all of our teachers and parents tell us every day of our lives and how to be safe and all. I’m not saying this in a corny way, but after the close experience I had I feel that life is more precious and I don’t want it ending before I’m ready.
This experience hasn’t changed my personality in any ways. I’m still the same person I’ve always been. I enjoy riding snowmobiles still and I ride quads and like speed and having fun. I like joking around and doing seemingly stupid things. I just try my best to do this in a safer manner. I’ve gotten older and a little more experienced and I know my limitations so I hold myself to them. I have just as much fun as I did before the accident. I’m just a safer individual.
The snowmobile bumper hanging in my barn is a symbol of how lucky I was that one night of my life and how precious life is. The accident did nothing to me physically, but it changed the way I think about things. It hasn’t changed me completely, but I feel that I am a safer person. I still have just as much fun as I always have and my personality is exactly the same. Life is just a little more meaningful and I would like to stay here as long as I can.