Being from Montana, some things are just bound to happen. Things such as getting stuck in the snow, going from a 20 degree day to high 60s almost 70s, and last but not least hitting a deer while driving. In Montana we are used to all of the wonderful wildlife and beautiful things that our state has to offer. Something you have to always keep in the back of your mind is a random deer popping out of nowhere while driving, and that is something I did not do on February 29, 2020. 

     When I first hit the deer, I didn’t know what to do. So I texted my mom and she told me it was all going to be okay and that everyone does it at some point. But in the back of my head I knew that my dad hasn’t ever hit a deer, so telling him would be a different story. 

     When I got home, the first thing I saw was my dad outside waiting for me. At the time I had a million thoughts racing through my head because I was scared. He reacted how I had pictured; he got mad, got a little loud, but I knew that it was all happening because he thankfully cares about me and the safety of my driving. 

     Later that evening, once he had the car in pieces, he took me out to the garage to assess the damage and know what we have to do to fix it. By that time he already had his plan in action and was ready to go. He said that it would be a slow process and everything might take time. 

     We started by washing off everything we could so that it was all clean and pretty. The paint on the front bumper of my car was peeling, so we decided to power wash it off and sanded that down and repainted it white so it looked better. Since we had the paint, we also decided to sand down little rusted spots on the rest of the car and cover them as well. 

     After he finished that, we had to order a part to fix my headlight. The light itself was not broken, but the part that held it in was. Once we get that part and a new fender, we will be all good to go. 

     According to State Farm, one in 56 people in Montana has hit a deer sometime throughout their lifetime. Montana has the second highest rate in the country. West Virginia topped us with a rate of one in 46 people. In both 2017 and 2018, the number of deer-related claims went up 1 percent since previous years. 

     Not being able to drive for almost a week now has been killing me. So I am trying to take this experience as a good thing so once I am able to drive I appreciate it so much more than I have. Once I first got my license I was so happy to be able to drive, and then it got old really fast except for with  friends and fun times. So having one of the big privileges in anyone’s life taken for a little while makes you appreciate it so much more when you are able to get it back.