Unexplained Incidents

Lately it has been on my mind how often there are situations in our lives that we just can not control or they happen with no clear explanation. My first semester of college seemed to be full of these situations.

Going into college I was pretty nervous about how it would go, and how I would be able to handle being on my own. Being on my own was a very scary situation and I was so nervous. My grandmother had been diagnosed with cancer in summer of 2009 and it had been a battle ever since. Well a month before the semester started the doctor told my family that my grandmother did not have much longer to live. I knew this whenever I started the semester but with the excitement of school and my mother's assuring texts I was not worried about my grandmother leaving me anytime soon. Well class began on Wednesday, but I knew that I would be going home for the weekend for Labor Day Holiday so I would get to spend time with my family. That Friday all seemed well and I had spoken to my friend who is also from Brownwood and she needed me to take some of her personal items back to Brownwood. Well as I was walking back from one of my classes my mother called me urgently and said that I needed to be home soon and that my dad was going to drive to Austin to come get me. I didn't question anything and headed to my friend's dorm to get her things before my dad arrived. Whenever I arrived at her dorm, we began to chat and she told me that she had decided that she too was going home for the weekend. I thought oh, well why ask my dad to come down here, if I could just ride with my friend. At first I did not realize that this "lucky" opportunity, was a blessing in disguise. Whenever I arrived to my hometown my mom finally told me why it was so urgent for me to be home. My grandmother wasn't going to be with us much longer and I needed to say goodbye.
I hadn't realized until much later that my friend going home that day was a great blessing, something that couldn't really be explained. I just happened to be lucky to show up to her dorm before she decided that she was going to head home. My grandmother passed away later in the night but I was able to see her, and accept that she wasn't going to be with us anymore. The extra time that I received through arriving early was something that I appreciated. I was able to bond with my family and we were all able to pray together and it was a blessing to know that we were in it together.
The scenarios surrounding my grandmother's run with cancer and her death were all so unexpected and I could never fully understand why it happened to her. 

A month and a half later, on October 16th I was in a car accident. I had fallen asleep at the wheel, and rolled my car 7 times. I can't remember much about the rolling but I do remember being so scared whenever my world had finally stopped spinning. I did not have any serious injuries, or at least ones I considered serious. My biggest injury was a chip on my shoulder bone that needed to be healed. I didn't mind that I was "broken" but the few bruises and sores that I had were worth it because I was alive. This scenario is something that could have been prevented had I not fallen asleep but it still affected me in a way that I could not explain what happened afterwards. I had never been injured before so it was new to me the restrictions that are in place whenever you have broken limbs. I have always been a very independent individual, so even with my arm in a sling I still tried my very best to do everything on my own. My feelings and emotions were raging from not being able to be at my full ability and it angered me to feel so limited. Being in this situation unknowingly taught me to be more gentle and accepting of others who were maybe not up to "normal" speed. It also showed me how to be more willing to receive help and allow others to be there for me. I couldn't handle everything on my own and it took me a while to accept this.
Not being fully able-bodied for a few months was something I had not anticipated my first year in college, but it led to many other opportunities that may or may not have happened due to my unexplained accident.