+
upworthy
More

It broke her heart seeing her daughter's Facebook page, asking for someone to please be her friend.

This young woman is now using her story in the most positive way possible. Both mom and daughter speak publicly in schools and other venues so that other young people won't make the same tragic mistake. She's making a difference.

In April 2012, then-17-year-old Liz Marks was driving down a road near St. Michaels, Maryland, when she received a text that would change her life forever.

Marks was a popular student and amateur model at the time.


That afternoon, Liz looked down at her cellphone to see a text from Betty, her mother. Within seconds, the 17-year-old crashed her Mazda 3 into a tow truck, leaving her in serious condition.

For nearly a month, Liz spent time in the intensive care unit located at the University of Baltimore Shock Trauma Center to recover from brain and facial injuries. As a result of the crash, Liz's face is permanently scarred, she is blind in one eye, and she can no longer produce tears. On top of it all, she soon saw that her once-reliable friends were no longer there for her.

In late 2014, Liz and Betty told their story in a video for the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Liz and Betty hope that the story of Liz's accident can help deter others from texting while driving.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 9 people are killed each day in accidents involving what they call "distracted driving," which is defined as doing another activity that takes attention away from driving. Additionally, more than 1,153 people are injured daily in distracted-driving-related accidents.


Watch Liz and Betty's story below.

Education

A school assignment asked for 3 benefits of slavery. This kid gave the only good answer.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

A school assignment asked for 3 "good" reasons for slavery.



It's not uncommon for parents to puzzle over their kids' homework.

Sometimes, it's just been too long since they've done long division for them to be of any help. Or teaching methods have just changed too dramatically since they were in school.

And other times, kids bring home something truly inexplicable.
Keep ReadingShow less


Teacher Bret Turner thought he'd kick off the morning with his first-grade students using a little riddle.

On the whiteboard in the front of the class, he scrawled it out in black marker:

"I am the beginning of everything, the end of everywhere. I'm the beginning of eternity, the end of time & space."

One student raised their hand, the first to venture a guess.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

Non-Americans are sharing the ‘dead giveaway’ someone is American and they are pretty right

The dead giveaway is when they call me "honey" or "sweetie" or "darling."

via Flickr, Flickr, and Flickr

Three American tourists enjoying the sights.

One of the most interesting things about traveling the world is noticing how people from your country are a bit different from the place you’re visiting. In America, you’re mostly around fellow countrymen so it’s hard to notice the things that make us stand out.

But when you travel abroad, you quickly notice that no matter how hard you try to blend in, there are a lot of dead giveaways that show people you’re from the states that go way beyond your accent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Parenting

Teenage girl shamed for her ‘distracting’ outfit fights back in a very funny way

“[Because] she has a figure she was told she had to change.”

Photo from Facebook page.

A clever message written on her T-shirt.

A Lawton, Oklahoma, student who goes by the Facebook user name Rose Lynn had the last laugh after being sent home from school for wearing an outfit deemed "distracting." Rose Lynn believes her outfit attracted the attention of school officials because of her figure.

She proved it by posting a photo on Facebook of her modest outfit, which consisted of black leggings, a t-shirt, long cardigan, and boots. In her post, she wrote that she was sent home "because I'm developed farther than the average girl my age," and because she's a "CURVY woman." Rose Lynn also thinks the appropriate response shouldn't have been to tell her to cover up, but to teach boys to "to respect the boundaries of young ladies."

Keep ReadingShow less
Science

She tattooed half her face and you'd never know it. Her skills are just that good.

This incredible medical tattoo technology is giving renewed hope to burn victims.

All images via the CBS/YouTube

Basma Hameed runs a tattoo shop, of sorts...


Meet Samira Omar.

The 17-year-old was the victim of a horrific bullying incident.

Keep ReadingShow less

Taylor Swift at 2022 Toronto International Film Festival Red Carpet Day 2.

The wordsmiths over at Merriam-Webster have announced their official “Word of the Year for 2023,” they say it’s something we are “thinking about, writing about, aspiring to, and judging more” than ever.

The word is authentic.

According to the dictionary, the most common definitions of authentic are “not false or imitation,” “being true to one's own personality, spirit, or character,” and “worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact.”

Merriam-Webster says the word saw a “substantial increase” in lookups this year. That’s probably because we now live in a world where artificial intelligence, deepfake technology and questionable memes challenge our basic notions of reality.

Keep ReadingShow less