I don't know how long you've been driving, but it seems like you're pretty new to it. Every new driver forgets up several times and learns a lesson, it's part of learning to drive. It's just unfortunate that your forget up resulted in an accident instead of just a good scare. Try not to let it get to you that much, you're just lucky that it wasn't a bad accident.
It sucks that you have to pay the $500 deductible, but that's not really a monetary "punishment." That's just how car insurance works. It keeps people from calling claims in on every speck on their car. Yeah, you could have done a lot more stuff with that $500, but I wouldn't look at it as now you're working just to afford your commute to work. I'd look at it as you're lucky that you're working, otherwise you wouldn't be able to afford the deductible.
