Johnson Attorneys Group’s Never Drink and Drive Scholarship finalist, K. Johnson is studying psychology at Northcentral University in San Diego.
She is one of several finalists chosen by our law firm for the annual competition every spring. Our friends at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in California will share the name of the winner on Friday. We are sharing the stories from our finalists throughout the week.
“This week is spring break for many college-aged students and we hope to bring awareness to young people and encourage them to never drink and drive,” said Attorney James Johnson, founder of Johnson Attorneys Group.
Here is the essay submission from K. Johnson for the Johnson Attorneys Group scholarship competition.:
Drunk driving has had a negative impact in my life. Growing up, my mother suffered from alcoholism and there wouldn’t be a weekend where she would not drink and would even drive me and my sisters around.
The trauma that we would go through every time my mother would drink and drive was very scary and made a huge impact in my life. From a very young age I knew that I didn’t want to follow in my mother’s steps and knew that once the time came for me to be able to drive I would not make the same mistakes.
I always questioned my mother and asked her why she would make us go through that, but although at that time I did not understand it, now I know that she also had a problem. She would make promises all the time that she would constantly break, because she too was struggling. As I got older I was able to become more dependent and help out with driving when needed. I think this was the main reason as to why I was very persistent in getting my license as soon as I could. So that I would be able to drive us around, especially when my mother was drunk.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t always be there as I was also working and going to school. On one of those occasions that I was unable to be there my mother and younger sister suffer a horrible accident. My mother was under the influence and my younger sister suffered a very traumatic accident. Fortunately, both are still alive, but I remember that I felt so devastated and hurt.
Seeing both my mother and little sister in the hospital made me feel something that I had never felt before. All I wanted was for both of them to be safe and okay. My mother felt very guilty and knew at that moment that she needed help.
I think the accident was like a double edge sword because although we had experienced a tragedy it helped my mother to realize that she was wrong and pushed her to get the help and support she needed. Although my mother on occasions still drinks, she does not drive under the influence anymore. As my sisters and I also got older we were able to learn from mother mistakes and whenever we do drink we know that we can rely on each other to be driven or get picked up.
Johnson Attorneys Group is a personal injury law firm with offices throughout California. Our firm is proud to be a longtime supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Our annual spring essay competition is open to California students or students attending a California college. Read the full details on our website
- Hesperia Crash Bear Valley Road and Second Avenue - April 26, 2024
- 6 Injured Victorville Crash US Highway 395, Eucalyptus Street - April 26, 2024
- Patricia Lopez Killed in Crash on McHenry Avenue in Del Rio - April 26, 2024
