Driving home from spending the night with her family, Aspen Blessing was 5 days away from her 19th birthday on March 10. At 4:16 a.m. she would be involved in a head on collision with a drunk driver, killing her instantly.

“We didn’t just lose who Aspen was, we lost the gift of getting to see who she was going to become,” Aspen’s mother, Jen Blessing, said during the assembly for juniors and seniors Dec. 2. “We don’t get to watch her step into all the amazing things we know she would have done.”

During the assembly, the family stated the effects Aspen’s death had on them and the driver. 

“He didn’t only impact our lives,” Aspen’s  brother, Elijah Blessing said during the assembly. “He impacted his life, and his family and friends,” Elijah said. “Your decisions matter, and the choices you make will have an impact.”

After her brother, Aspen’s younger sister Catherine Blessing went further into detail on how the crash affected her.

“Aspen wasn’t just my big sister,” Catherine said. “She was my best friend, the one I could talk to about anything, and the one I looked up to.”

After Catherine, Jen Blessing would speak again for a final time, emphasizing how one  person’s choice doesn’t ever singly affect them.

“It would be easy to just focus on us and how hard this journey has been, but the truth is every choice you make has a ripple effect,” Jen Blessing said. “Every first responder on scene, and the bystanders who stopped will forever carry those images in their minds.”

Texas State Trooper Sergeant Bryan Washko also said that he hates to do death notifications.

“What you see is raw emotion,” Washko said. “People, they’re worse when we show up. There’s no easy way to do it.”

Washko also warned of how texting or calling while driving can lead to a spiral of bad choices.

“You all know to do good for the first month or two [after you start driving], and then you start getting complacent,” Washko said. “You start texting and driving, and then we start seeing young people in some very bad crashes.”

Toward the end of the assembly, Washko told the story of a friend who died from a head on collision while drunk.

“Had I not made the choice to steer clear, I would have been in the passenger seat with him and I would not be here today,” Washko said. 

At the end of the assembly Washko listed some alternative options to driving when drunk. 

“Have a designated driver, and if that person drinks a beer, or two, or five, then they are no longer a designated driver,” Washko said. “Call your parents if you have to.”

Presented by One Choice, this presentation was about informing students about the risks of distracted or influenced driving , the people it affects and the ways people can avoid driving distracted or under the influence. 

“Aspen will definitely be their first thought before driving under the influence,” senior Kayla Czuhajewski said. “Many of my friends have already taken actions to drive without distractions, like their phones.”

One Choice hosts a website at youronechoice.com with more information about their story, the family, and includes fundraising items and a place to donate to support the Blessing Family in their mission to prevent distracted and influenced driving.