The Partial Observer by Arya Patel

Presentation Touches Student Hearts, Minds

As a teenager, one of the things I most look forward to is learning to drive and having the ability to drive myself and my friends around. Growing up, I always knew driving came with precautions, and, like with anything, there is a chance for disaster. It wasn’t until Ms. Karen Torres gave a presentation to my school that I realized how drastic these disasters could be.

The presentation was called “Distracted Driving,” and Torres had gone into great detail about accidents caused by distracted driving, but more importantly precious lives lost because of recklessness. Torres had told many touching stories about her own personal life, including the story about how she lost her father due to a distracted driver. As she spoke, tears flooded the auditorium, and she managed to make a few hundred high-school kids speechless.

I’ve been in a car probably close to every single day of my life, but I never did realize how serious each car ride I was in could be, whether it was a five-minute drive, or a five-hour drive.

Torres not only touched our hearts by showing videos and pictures of children, teenagers, and adults in various states, but through her emotions and her ability to relate to the students was able to impact our lives forever. She taught us to value our time with loved ones, and made us think, “Was the text that important?” following a video of a car crash because the driver was distracted on their phone.

The energy from the crowd was filled with many various feelings. You could feel the tears pouring from friends’ and teachers’ eyes as they admirably looked at Torres, recognizing her bravery and devotion to speak about such a deliberate topic. You could feel the fear of, “What if this were to happen to me?” But, most importantly, you could feel the pain and suffering of, “What if I were to do this to someone else?”

The entirety of the crowd was absolutely shook, but everyone knew it was a talk we needed to have and that we needed to acknowledge the risks of driving, and what is at stake when you are at the wheel. Torres had made the presentation unique to every one of us without realizing it, and she has convinced me never to touch my phone while driving, nor take my eyes off the road.

Every time I step in the car, I think about the presentation that was given to me and my classmates, and I think of the catastrophes that can arise from issues like this. Many times, the words spoken at such presentations go in one ear and out the other rather quickly, but the words of Karen Torres will stay with me forever, as she touched my heart and my classmates in the span of only 50 minutes, in which she might just have saved numerous lives.

Information on this speaker can be found at: https://www.all4udad.com/

Arya Patel is a sophomore at Cooperstown Central School and vice-president of the CCS chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions.