“I kissed her on the forehead and told her to be safe,” said senior Matt Davis.
That was the last time he would ever see his girlfriend Micayla Patterson who was killed in a car accident after returning home from a John Mayer concert in Tulsa on Sept. 3.
At the beginning of the year, Davis was looking forward to a care free senior year, before leaving for college.
“I was looking forward to football then having the second semester to party and not have any responsibility,” said Davis.
That all changed with a 7 a.m. phone call from Micayla’s mom, Becky.
“Mrs. Becky called me about seven the next morning,” said Davis. “It really shocked my system. You hear about this stuff, but don’t ever think it could happen to you.”
Prior to the accident, Davis had already endured many hardships throughout his life.
“My dad left when I was in eighth grade, and my mom and brother have never really gotten along since then,” said Davis.
In order to cope with such tragedy, Davis has turned back to his faith.
“I lost my faith during my parent’s divorce. This [the accident] has made me go back to my faith,” said Davis. “I can’t do it without God. It’s amazing how he can take something that seems like such a mess and turn it into a message.”
Davis also turned to the Patterson family to help him go through the grieving process.
“Instead of letting tragedy destroy his life, Davis has used them as defining moment to change his life.
“It’s put me back where I need to be. I’ve given everything back to God, and taken myself away from things that could get me back to where I was and what I was doing,” said Davis.
In the aftermath of the loss, Davis surprised himself by leading the football team in tackles.
“I actually played this year and had to really learn everything when last year I barely played in a JV game. Leading the team in tackles was pretty exciting and unexpected for me,” said Davis.
For now, Davis is focusing on graduating and trying to figure out how to move on from such a tragedy.
“I’m ready to graduate. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m going to the University of Arkansas,” said Davis. “There’s no words anyone can say to make it better or solve it, but there is one person [God] that can carry you through it. Ask him and I promise he’ll get you through it.”