Each of us in our lives face different sorts of experiences. We may land that great job before graduation or be forced to constantly look for employment that will pay off the mounds of student loans. We may fall into a swooning and fantastic love or choose to remain single.

There are ups and downs to everything in life. Although it would be great to live a picture perfect life with no troubles, I believe that everyone must and should face life’s tragedies, no matter how terrible. Sure, there are certain events that are definitely horrible and uncalled for, but the cards of life are not necessarily dealt with a stacked deck. We can hold a pair of aces or a pair of twos.

I admit, I have been lucky enough not to encounter any grossly severe tragedy in my life, like the violent death of a loved one or anything on that scale. I have my own personal tragedies — a car accident — which may seem relatively minor, but I think is important.

It was on Oct. 9, 1992. I was 16 and driving my brownish gold 1977 Plymouth Fury Sport. It had two (very heavy) doors, cruise control and an AM radio. It wasn’t much, but I like the Fury. (I think I just liked the sound of the word.)

I was headed to an away football game with a friend, and my mom was following me. We were late and I messed up. Just one mile from town, I tried to make a left turn onto a county blacktop, only to have a near head-on collision. I still don’t remember seeing the other car’s headlights. Probably because my head hit the windshield and I blacked out as the Fury did a 180 degree turn.

I woke up to my passenger shaking me. She thought I was dead because blood ran down my face as it rested on the horn. She urged me to get out of the car because she thought it might blow up. I crawled out the broken window and looked at my car, only to find I couldn’t see anymore. I started crying because I thought I was going blind, but it just turned out that I had blood running in my eyes.

I thought my mom would be the first on the scene, but she took a different route into town. She was walking by the ambulance when it was called away from the football field. I feared I would be charged with involuntary manslaughter or vehicular homicide if rescuers didn’t get the other driver out with the jaws of life.

The entire incident was an eye opener for me. Never before had I had a brush with death. If I hadn’t had such a huge steel bomber like the Fury, I would not be alive. The front end saved my life. My friend escaped with only a bump on her shin, and I had a bleeding forehead. It turns out that if I would have put on my seatbelt when I thought about it (just one mile before the accident), I would not have the glass that still remains in my forehead today. This was the only time I have not worn a seatbelt, so ever since then, I have considered it a curse.

I realized that life can disappear with a shudder of the eye. No matter how healthy and safe we try to be, we have no real control when we may suddenly exit life on Earth. That made me appreciate what I have much more. What if I died tomorrow? Would everyone really know how I felt about them? Would I die with the regret of not being able to do something I desired?

I didn’t want to leave being angry at my sister for borrowing my clothes without asking. If you think about it, much of our anger is petty and trite. For our limited existence we should try to enjoy life, not be bitter at the world and take advantage of the many opportunities that come before us. Sure, we plan for the future, but we can’t put everything off. What if there is no “later?”

It seems that many times I forget what I have learned from this experience, but I try to remember every time I put my seatbelt on. More importantly, I try to remember this every time I am around people, especially loved ones. Everyone has these bad experiences, but it is important for us to remember.

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Erin Payne is a senior in journalism and mass communication and political science from Rock Rapids.