Tatayana Greene
Create Real Impact Contest Essay

You Only Get One

Summer 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. My considered-second family, The Morrings, had came to get me in the early afternoon to go on a 2-3 hour drive to get my sister Terraé her new puppy to cure the mourning for her recently lost one. I climbed into the third section of the run down 2014 jet black Tahoe, Ms.Morring in the driver seat, family friend Tanisha in the passenger, Tanisha’s daughter and our friend Darius in the second section, and me and Terraé in the third. The car ride was full of laughter and sing-a-longs with plenty of freeway until we finally got off, although we still had plenty of ground to cover. There was farm after farm, cow after cow and so many different roadside stands selling either fruits, vegetables or pies. It was obvious we were in the countryside part of Ohio by now. We even passed by an outside go-kart place that we all started making plans to come back to before the summer was over. It still took about thirty minutes to get to the house where the woman we were getting the puppy from lived, but once pulling up in the driveway and opening the door, we were bumrushed with the tiniest puppies and kittens any of us had laid our eyes on. We were greeted by a short, Caucasian lady named Amber, who told us that Terraé could pick whatever puppy her heart desired. After about five minutes of looking around, she made a connection with Bubbles, the runt of a litter of Yorkie Terriers. After filling out paperwork and buying any other necessities for Bubbles, we were in the truck heading back home. This is where my reason behind this essay begins. “Are y’all hungry!? I’m hungry!” Ms.Morring said. We all laughed and simultaneously said different versions of “Yes.” as she pulled into a gas station and got out the truck. I reached for my wallet and asked everyone what they wanted, and oce getting orders made my way out the truck and into the gas station, where Ms.Morring was buying seven boxes of mini pizzas, plain cheese, pepperoni and sausage. After she bought our pizzas and gas and I bought our extras, we made our way back, where I handed everyone what they wanted while Ms.Morring pumped gas. A door flung open and slammed. Tanisha’s daughter, Darius, Terraé and I looked straight to the door to see that the slamming came from Tanisha’s door. “What she do that for?” was the look written plainly on everyone’s face. Ms.Morring got back into the car and looked around, “Where’s Tanisha!? I’m ready to go!” “She went inside the gas station.” Terraé said. “Why?” “We don’t know, she just got out and slammed the door behind her and went inside the gas station.” “Okay well she better hurry up before she get left.”. We waited outside for almost ten minutes before Tanisha came out, a bag of chips and candy in her hand. “You’re so selfish, I hope you know that Unique.” she said as she got into the car. “What!? What’re you talking about, how am I “selfish””? “You bought everyone something but my daughter! And you were gonna have the nerve to drive off without buying her anything!” We all sat in the truck with puzzled expressions. What was she talking about? Ms.Morring bought seven pizzas, there are seven people in the truck. “..what? I bought her a pizza.” “She’s a vegetarian! She doesn’t eat meat! You bought only pizzas with meat!” “I got a cheese one too! Tanisha what is wrong with you?!” the argument continued, getting hotter and hotter with every word. Ms.Morring had eventually started up the truck and began driving the route back home, with them yelling at each other for almost ten minutes. “Can y’all just stop!? Y’all are scaring this little girl! She is back here crying and y’all continue to argue in her face!?” Terraé and I both shouted at them. It was sad that it took a couple of 14 year olds to get them to stop. We got back onto the freeway, and where we were, there weren’t lights lined up along the freeway, so once it became pitch black with the moonlight not even bright enough to light a quarter of the sky, we were on our own. “Tati can you please use your GPS to tell me where to go?” I pulled out my phone, 23%. “I have 23% so we’re gonna have to get to a place that you know how to get home from fast.” We drove along the dark freeway for thirty minutes until my phone died. “Okay, I think I know where I’m going from here.” “I hope so, because my phone just died.” We approached the part of a freeway where there was construction, with only two ways to go, and one was home. We turned onto the right lane, which was the where the worst part of the construction was. There was raw gravel on the left side of the lane, and cement blocks lining the right, leaving very little room for a Tahoe to fit. “I can’t believe you did that Unique.” Those six words started it up again. Everyone was now yelling, the car was now moving faster as Ms.Morring got louder, and the only people quiet were Tanisha’s daughter and Bubbles. The whole back of the car jerked to the side, to the left, then to the right. Mrs.Morring lost control of the wheel. Her foot still heavy on the gas, we sped up even faster. I grabbed Terraé’s head, sheltering her from hitting it anywhere while I went head first into the seat of me. We crashed straight into the cinder blocks, up and over. So this essay is about solutions right? Well I’m going to make them so that they assist my story. Don’t distract the driver. You ever heard of the silent treatment when someone upsets you? Use it. Also, make sure that you have a driver with all the direction necessities needed for a road trip, whether it being someone’s brain, a map or some form of a GPS. If the driver is not prepared for you, don’t trust them with your life. Also, if you’re riding with someone that you know has a bad temper, avoid making them upset, as that can cause them to become foot-heavy with the gas pedal out of anger. If people are arguing, be the peacemaker, don’t join in thinking yelling will make them listen to you, because if they’re already yelling at and not listening to each other, why would they listen to you? You only get one life, I don’t want to see on the news how you lost yours.