My cousin Cassie was a beautiful girl; she was 22 years old and she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Not only was she drop dead gorgeous, she had the personality to fit her appearance, and she was one of the sweetest girls you would ever meet. Three years ago, on November 26, 2006, Cassie was on her way back to school, she attended Long Beach University. She was sleeping in the back seat of the car with some of her friends while another friend had been driving, they were sitting in traffic and all of a sudden a car came weaving in and out of the traffic and rear-ended them, killing Cassie instantly.

Now, three years later, Thanksgiving fell on the same day that Cassie had died. Thanksgiving is a time to be with your family, eat good food, and give thanks. We all wish Cassie could have been there to share it with us, but thanks to a reckless driver she couldn’t. Her family and friends were put through hell and back, with his trial and Cassie’s memorial service, you can’t imagine how many people burst into tears at her service, including me. I just wish that driver would have had the consideration to stop and think about what he was doing.

Whether or not it’s drinking and driving, or just being stupid and reckless, please, just stop and think about what you are doing and who else it may affect. You are not only going to hurt yourself, but you could hurt many more people, more than you could ever imagine. Everyone is affected; it may be your family or someone else’s, your friends or their friends, you or them. Stop and think about it. You can help make the difference, one driver at a time. Get the message out there, for all the victims of reckless driving, just like Cassie.