Hailey stepped out one sunny afternoon to put some finishing touches to her migration documents and never made it back home— and never will, because she was involved in a fatal accident and didnt make it out alive. Her relatives didn't know about her demise until the said date for her departure when they called to say their goodbyes and found out that her number wasn't going through. After doing some investigations, they realised that Hailey had passed away a few days ago after being rushed to the hospital by a random stranger. As relatives who just found out where your relative's body is, why try to file a lawsuit against the medical professionals who worked tirelessly to save her life? Why not use that money for something else? I'm not going to talk about any medical occurrence today but this incident left me in a daze for a very long time. I couldn't help but wonder if there was anything the victim would have done differently to avoid the mishap, or was it just her time as she was the only one in a bus filled with passengers that lost her life. Thoughts just kept flooding my mind.
Be Safe
Everyday we step out of our comfort zones, we are at risk of something occuring. A random accident; be it roadside, workplace , home or even recreational accidents. Personally, I've avoided a few road accidents either out of sheer scepticism or because my instincts strongly repelled me from joining certain public transportations.
The most recent one occurred when I was on a journey with a friend. We just alighted from a bus and were supposed to take another bus to our final destination and I was strangely repelled from boarding the first bus that came our way. Without flinching, I told my friend that I wasn't joining that bus because I didn't feel like it and she could carry on without me. The friend who was just a step from climbing into the bus alighted and waved the bus off. The passengers inside the bus were grumbling and hissing but I didn't pay any heed to their discontentment.
Shortly after, another bus arrived and I boarded this bus. A few kilometers from where I boarded the bus, there was some form of blockade on the road. On getting closer, I recognised some passengers from the bus I turned down earlier with minor cuts and lacerations. All I could think of was “that would have been me”.
Be that as it may, we can never totally be safe but we can take action to ensure a certain degree of safety in our day to day lives by first, being aware and conscious of our environments. Many people walk around their environments looking very oblivious and unconscious. They ignore the little things that are out of balance and by doing so may fall victims to certain mishaps. This can simply be avoided by paying close and keen attention to the things happening around us.
Next, trusting our instincts. One thing I usually say to anyone who cares to listen is that “I always trust my gut and on the very rare occasions when my gut instinct is wrong, I do not feel bad about it.” Trusting our gut in day to day situations can save us from a lot of trouble, especially those working with delicate subjects. If a situation or decision feels uncomfortable, trust your gut and do what it says.
During my primary school days, I disliked my teacher for making me draw and colour road traffic signs over and over again. I always wondered if I was ever going to use this knowledge that this teacher was so tirelessly trying to inculcate in me but right from the very day I retained that knowledge till date, I've made use of these road traffic signs. A sad fact is that not everyone knows how to read and interpret these signs; including the owners of most public transportation vehicles. Sometimes, these drivers may even miss these road signs because they are focused on the road. As a passenger, it is your obligation to voice out any concerns for your safety and the safety of the other individuals in the vehicle with you. Like they say “if you see something, say something.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) males are expected to live up to 75 years and females, 80 years. In order to live up to our respective life expectancies and even beyond, we must stay vigilant and woke at every point in time.
“Love Myself” by Hailee Steinfeld talks about self-service, self-love and self-protection. A few of the attributes we need for self preservation.
ps:Hailey is not the actual name of the individual referenced in this write-up.
Images generated by Meta AI.
