Have you ever told a friend to text you when they make it home safely after leaving your house? I’m sure most people have because I think it’s a pretty common thing to do, but have you ever had them forget to text you?

Have they ever fallen asleep right when they get home without texting you? If this has happened to you, were you worried about them?

As someone who has been in a life-threatening car accident, this situation always worries me. I know how terrified my dad was when I missed my curfew and didn’t answer his calls, only for him to get a call saying that I was on the way to the hospital.

Every time someone leaves my house, or any time I know they’re driving somewhere in the dark, I always tell them to let me know when they get where they’re going. If they forget, I give it about a half an hour after I know they should be home, and then I text them to check up on them.

If they don’t answer that, I start to worry.

Now, this may just be me being a little crazy, but anytime my boyfriend forgets to tell me that he gets home safely, (which happens way too often for my liking), I panic and tell myself that he wrecked his car.

I sit awake anticipating a call saying that he’s in the hospital and I should get there as soon as possible. Maybe I’ve watched Derek die one too many times on Grey’s Anatomy (spoiler alert, although it’s been three years, so it isn’t really a spoiler).

Even though it’s just a TV show, Meredith’s pain haunts me every time I don’t get that text saying “I’m home.”

You may not think it’s a big deal to forget something like this, but for some people it is a very big deal. Personally, I worry because I know that life is a very fragile thing.

Safety is a very fragile thing. You never know what could happen on a dark road late at night. Everything can change in a split second, so I will always worry when I don’t hear from my friends.

If your friends tell you to let them know when you make it home safely, try your hardest to remember. They love you, and they worry about you, so they want to make sure you’re OK.

Checking up on you is their way of saying they love you and they care about you. Everyone has lost someone, and they don’t want to have to lose someone else important to them.

Don’t let your friends panic and worry about you for no reason. That’s a feeling that no one ever wants to have to experience, so just remember to let your friends know you’re safe.

Jessica Stewart is a sophomore English education major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at

jrstewart3@eiu.edu.