A New Kind of Freedom

This past week, I achieved a milestone that I've been waiting for since forever. On Thursday, I finally passed my road test and got my driver's license. Obviously, having two parents with full-time jobs, I was excited to finally be able to go wherever I wanted to without their availability being a problem. As I filled out all the necessary paperwork, everything seemed to be going by so fast. One minute, I was still asking my dad what a blinking red light meant and the next minute I was sitting alone in my car, getting ready to drive.

My first time driving alone gave me the best feeling in the world. I picked up my best friend, and we jammed out to all of our favorite songs, got food, and just talked for an hour. As I drove home, the night provided an almost therapeutic feeling that finally forced me to reflect on my life. I had dreamed all my life about getting my license; it would give me the freedom that I had wanted for so long. However, just as I finally got what I desired, I felt a feeling of sadness rush over me.

As weird as it sounds, much of my time spent with my parents came from car rides. I would be forced to sit and talk to them for hours on end, and for some reason, I really enjoyed that. In reality, I have less than two years left to spend time with my family every single day. Once I go to college, home could be far away, or even if it's close, there's a good chance I won't be coming back every weekend. By getting my car, I'm losing some of my quality time with them. Obviously, I love my family more than anything and still talk to them a lot, but regardless, I will be spending less time with them.
"So John took his look and then set his face resolutely toward his destination. And, as he turned away, the lights of Hades against the sky seemed full of a warm and passionate beauty." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
When John leaves to St. Midas' School, he has no idea what he's about to get himself into, but he knows that Hades will always be his home. For me, my license presents a new opportunity for independence, but I will always come back home, to my family.

As I end this post, I would like to remind you all, as well as myself, that rather than dwell on the sentimental part, this is an opportunity to treasure my time with my parents more than I did in the past. Other than that, I'm excited to drive and explore this newfound freedom:)

This was my first time driving with my permit; time flies!

Comments

  1. Jason LoucksNovember 18, 2018 at 10:25 PM

    First of all, congratulations! I found it interesting that you took a very reflective view on something that could be easily seen just at its face value of that new found freedom. I am happy that Thanksgiving is coming up soon since sometimes I feel that we take a lot of things for granted, especially as teenagers, that we never really think of to be thankful for until it is gone, such like the time spent with your parents when driving.

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