In today’s society, texting is an incredibly significant part of life. People crave rapid responses and are eager to see messages immediately. It is rather difficult to imagine life without instant messaging. Texting is so prominent that individuals are risking lives by reading messages while driving. It is absolutely ridiculous and must be stopped. The time taken to write a simple message such as “OK” or “LOL” can cause severe injuries and death. A multitude of individuals believe that nothing will happen to them and that they are immune. Despite so, that is most definitely not the case. Life is precious and can be taken away in an instant. I urge everyone, especially my friends and family, to not text and drive . I beg everyone to listen carefully to my statements. Do not disregard this plead; it may save your life and others’ lives . I know that you may be rolling your eyes. However, even YOU can be a victim of an accident that resulted from texting and driving. When individuals text and drive, they are have greater chances of crashing. By texting and driving, people are tremendously impaired. To be a safe driver, people must pay attention to the road and be aware of upcoming dangers. Drivers are not conscious of traffic, pedestrians, signs, or changes when they are texting. When eyes are taken off the road, the driver has no control over the direction they are going in and are at risk. In the blink of an eye, an accident may suddenly occur. This may have happened because of ONE text message. Is answering a text message more important than preventing critical injuries and deaths? If someone died in an accident because of a car accident, imagine how heartbreaking that would be. Imagine if your friend, sibling, parent, or child died in a car crash due to a text message of all things. It is unquestionably tragic because the person could have achieved incredible things and lived a long life. When you lose someone close to you, it is an experience like no other. You do not want to accept the finality of death. The immense grief overtakes you. For instance, my friend’s 17 year old cousin passed away because he was texting and driving. He lost control of his truck and was thrown out of the window. He laid on the ground desperately searching for his phone. A women discovered the device and called 911. As she was on the phone, my friend’s relative was only able to say his name and his mother's name. Within a few minutes, he died before air transportation arrived. He was hardworking, outgoing, a competitive athlete, and a huge dreamer. It pains me to retell the story because he could have made it so far in life. In fact, I teared up as I explained how he died. I remember my friend’s extreme sorrow when she told me about his death. She told me how she did not feel it was real and that she could not feel anything. She discussed how she broke down in tears and did not care about anything anymore. On the day he passed away, she went to her room and screamed as loud as she could. The pain was absolutely unbearable for her. I knew the impact of her relative’s death was significant because she always stressed out about her assignments and over checked her work. My friend has always been incredibly assiduous with her school work and I watched her lose focus on it. After the death, she did not pay attention anymore and did not do her homework. She constantly felt like she could not breathe and that there was a hole in her life that would never be replaced. I always knew the danger of texting and driving, however, this event really demonstrated to me how likely it is to happen. Teenagers are not supposed to die young. They are especially not supposed to die a terrible death. Young people are always expected to outlive their parents. My friend’s cousin will never get married, never have children, and he will never obtain the career he desired. His parents will never witness his graduation from high school or have grandchildren. They will never get to see him go away to attend his dream college. He will only live in their fond memories. They can only imagine what a great man he would have become. Nevertheless, his family and friends will always remember his loving personality, his smile, and the joy he brought them. Although his death was quite terrible, it does teach a lesson. It manifests the importance of not texting and driving. Moreover, it demonstrates how quickly life can change. This boy would have been especially successful, but that changed within an instant. A simple text message took away his hopes, dreams, and future. A family was torn apart. I cannot grasp how I would survive after losing someone close because of texting and driving. I am sure lots of other people would feel the same way if they were in that situation. In order to prevent deaths like this, the realities of horrible deaths like this must be told. We must take action and vow to never text and drive. Please convince as much people as you can to stop texting and driving. We CAN make a difference and improve the safety of drivers and roads. However, NOTHING will change if we fail to spread the word of the dangers of texting while driving. We must put in effort and be diligent. We can avoid possible harm and tragedies. Let’s strive to make an impression on the world. I hope this story has impacted you to not text and drive. Don’t text and drive- save lives!