At last we arrived at Galway city and one of my best friends, Paraic picked us up. Carna village is our last and final stop. Just as Paraic drops us off at my house he says, “Alright lads, I will meet up with you at the pub in a bit. Hurry up and get ready. Take it easy.” I smiled and winked, he laughed and then left. Since my phone was beeping like a bomb from friends calling and texting to come out and have fun. All I thought of was to shower and eat real quick so we can go have some excitement. I looked at Mike and Kevin and said “You’re not in America anymore boys, drinking age is eight-teen. Let’s go have some fun!” they both replied saying “Hell yeah.” I just knew this night was going to be a great to start off spring break.
I was clean as a whistle and was ready to rock. We swallowed our dinner like there is nothing to stop it and rushed out the door. On our way out Kevin asked “Who will be driving us?” I replied, “I am, why?” Kevin is confused and Mike asks me if I am drinking tonight. I responded saying “Is that even a question? Don’t worry about it boys, I know these roads more than I know myself.” They look at me and just got in the car. I didn’t have a single worry while drinking and driving. Sure everyone does it. We arrived to the local pub and all of my friends are there having the time of their lives. I walked over and I got plowed with hugs and kisses. I introduced my cousins to everyone and they fit in perfect. I bought the first round and was ready to beat everyone in pool. As the hours went by the pub had to close eventually so we all went to my house to continue our great night.
I woke up the next morning not remembering the night before. I walked outside to see if the car was in one piece, the BMW never looked better. I’m a champ. I look around the house and there is nothing but a mess. I roll my eyes and start the cleaning. I never thought it would end but finally it did. After a long wait everyone wakes up and can smell my Irish breakfast a mile away. They grin and sit at the table waiting for a feed. After only one night in Ireland Mike and Kevin loved it and were waiting for night to crawl around again. We watched the television for a little bit and then I had to do a bit of work around the house before it was too late. Mike and Kevin would stay inside and play video games or watch television while I worked outside. Hours past by and a diminutive amount of work was done. I walk inside and they are ready for another night out. I laugh and got ready.
Another night without remembering anything; usually means you had a great night but not when you wake up in the hospital. My head was pounding and I’ve never been as scared. I touched my head and felt twelve stitches above my right eye. I try getting out of the bed to find a doctor to tell me what happened. I couldn’t move my right knee without being in pain. I checked it out and saw seven-teen stitches. I looking around and I saw nobody. Every minute felt like an hour. My doctor walks in and I fired out a million questions at him. He tells me I was drinking and driving and crashed the car into a wall on my way to another pub. Thankfully I wasn’t with anybody. I couldn’t believe it. My two cousins walk in and look at me and I could tell what they are saying in their mind. “I told you so.” They didn’t say anything negative. I ask about the BMW. Kevin responded “Dude, It is totaled. You’re lucky you only got what you got. You could be dead.” I’m still in shock but feel like an idiot. Mike stood up and said “Come on Kevin. Let’s go get Martin’s medication and stuff so we can get out of here.” The doctor tells me to take it easy for a couple weeks and I will be fine.
Before he left the room he turned around and said “When you see you car son, you’re going to thank god for each and every day you will be here.” That’s when it hit me the most. This is a new understanding I had to learn the hard way unfortunately. The last couple days went by and we had our fun the right way. We said our goodbyes and were on our way home to Chicago. We weren’t kidding when we said we will never forget this spring break. I just wish things went better as planned. It was fun for the most part, but at least we learned a valuable lesson from this, “You drink, you drive, you lose.” I will never forget the outcome of drinking and driving. It turned my life around and it is my biggest life lesson. Even though I lost a couple thousand Euros, I would rather lose money than my life.