Recently, during lunch, I was flipping through a day planner that belonged to a girl of my own kind. She had everything marked in, from haircuts and doctors appointments, to project due dates and visits from friends.

Normally, I barely would have noticed such a calendar, but this one belonged to Katie Almeter. Katie Almeter died in a devastating alcohol-related car crash near Colgate University on Nov. 11, 2000. Two friends, Rachel Nargiso and Emily Collins, and Troy native Kevin King died in the crash, as well. Emily’s planner indicated her excitement over her friends' visit.

“Emily and Rachel Here!!!” she wrote on the date of Nov. 11. The girls didn’t finish their weekend together.

So why was I reading Emily’s planner? Its part of a traveling museum exhibit called “Friends: One Day. One Wrong Turn,” currently housed at Niskayuna High School. The exhibit features a timeline of events leading up to the crash, photographs from the Hamilton College frat party the four attended that night, and newspaper articles about the crash. But more touching than any of those objects, are the personal momentos of the three victims. It features pictures of the three girls at their high school prom. Katie’s track uniform and Kevin’s Clemson magnet are on display. These objects put a face to the 25,000 people killed each year in drunken-driving accidents.

For me, seeing what Katie had planned for her near future - a date with her boyfriend, a weekend home with her family, a track meet - drove home what years of health classes had said: If you drive after drinking you run the risk of missing out on the rest of your life or taking away someone else’s.

The exhibit is open to the public from 6 to 8 pm on April 24 and 30, May 1,7, 8, 13, and 14. It’s also open all day May 20. I encourage everyone to attend.

It might not be Katie’s journal for you. It could be Rachel’s drawings or Kevin’s golf trophy, but something will make you stop, pause and think.