There’s something wonderful about packing up the car with a few changes of clothes and hitting the road without looking back at reality for just a few hours or a few days. I am not really sure if it’s the wide open road, the sunsets, or the adventures that await when I put my hands on the steering wheel. But the famous last words of my friends and family think otherwise.
“You need to stop running those roads so much!”-Nana
“You are gone somewhere else before we know you even made it back home safe”- Judy
Monday December 12, 2016, my blue civic and I finally reached 100,000 miles and every mile has truly been a memory. Thankfully, I got that car on December 5, 2010. Yes, she has had quite a few problems and has gone through many sets of tires, batteries, and other miscellaneous parts. Despite this, we have made so many memories together. The endless amount of laughter and adventure has been remarkable!
I don’t think some realize what it means to a kid my age to just pick up and go without worrying about where we're going and how we are getting there. For us, it's more like who comes on the adventure and what we can get to see.
One hundred thousand miles later, I have had 6 years of endless adventures: learning how to drive with Nana in parking lots and driving 5 mph under the speed limit my first time on the interstate (watching even the senior citizens pass me in the slow lane), and the most recent adventures back and forth to the beach.
To most, 100,000 miles doesn’t seem like much because you are used to it but for someone who started at less than 5 miles that seems like an entire life time.
My favorite times in my little blue car would be the crazy dance moves to One Direction and making up lyrics to songs we had no idea about. Of course, blaring the music as loud as possible going down the “bully” trying to not get mugged at the sketchy end of town at all hours of the night. Another favorite memory is getting up at the crack of dawn to make it back to Greenwood to work in time and falling asleep on the toilet in the rest stop in Columbia.
Even though I talk a lot of trash about my civic, I can say that I wouldn’t have the memories of all the road trips and adventures without it. Even though the majority of my friends hate on my two door civic, we usually end up taking it on adventures and sometimes get stranded on the side of the interstate with a flat tire. As I’ve gotten older, it has become the most popular spot for me to sit and vent to someone on the phone with, go for a drive to clear my head, or just to get away.
To me, it’s not about what you do, where you’ve been, what you’ve got, or how much money is in your checking account. It's about the memories you can make and how far that tank of gas will take you. Every mile is a mile that I could jam out with whoever is in my car or that could take me to see some of my favorite people! I hear things about how I am on the go too much, but to me it feels like nothing because a four hour drive is a piece of cake. Here’s to the laughs and adventures that wait on that very next mile or road trip that I take and only regretting the road’s not taken.
