Hi. My name is Bethany and I always thought that everyone had time to spare. But after what happened to me. I will always live life to the fullest.

It was Friday 12 December 2018. My friends and I were going out to a new club called The Gangster Hangout. We didn’t know that it was actually a club where people smoke, get high and all that. We thought that is was just a swanky way to say that it was a cool club. We were all looking beautiful and foxy as usual. Hoping to get dates or “cash daddies”.

One of my friends, Jamie, said that we should hang out by the bar and have a few drinks before we hit the dance floor. I agreed. We had a few shots and before I knew it I was already drunk. I couldn’t control myself. My body was just swinging left and right.

I reached for one of my friends but I couldn’t control what I was doing. I decided to sit outside and try to get some fresh air. I got to the door and went outside. I saw what looked like a bench across the street and tried to get to it. Before I reached the bench I heard a voice shout, “Bethany watch out!” And when I turned around I saw that it was my friend. She kept telling me to move but before I did a bright light shone on my right eye and a car sped towards me.

It hit my hip and before I knew it I was on the ground, bleeding to death. I can vaguely remember Jamie crying for help and an ambulance coming towards me. The last thing I saw was Jamie with blood all over her dress.

When I woke up I found myself in a hospital bed with a face mask. A kind nurse told me what happened. She said that I was lucky to survive the accident. I had lost a lot of blood and some of my vital organs had been seriously damaged. But I guess somehow I got lucky.

I couldn’t believe what she had told me. It seemed so unreal. The thought of what could have happened if I didn’t survive just shook me to my core.

The nurse let me see my friends and family. My parents were furious and relieved at the same time. What a rush of mixed emotions. My friends could not stop hugging me. Everyone in that room was full of mixed emotions including myself. I still couldn’t get my head around the fact that I could have died. I could have been taken from this world at such a young age. It made me think about all the things I want to achieve in life that I have never even thought of before.

Now I have realised how important life is. I don’t want to be a party girl anymore. But I am not letting this accident turn me into a former shell of myself. I’m still going to live my life. Just a little bit more carefully from now on.

Tell us: Has something life-changing ever happened to you?