"You're driving home? Wow, that sounds like a long time," is what people say when I tell them I plan to drive 13 hours from Bloomington to Dallas, Texas. Despite their skepticism, I look forward to this drive every time, and I've yet to loathe it.
My parents and I made the collective decision that I would drive up to college for my sophomore year, as I didn't really need to have a car living in the dorms freshman year, and I now live in a place where having my car is easier if I need to take myself to the store, pick up a friend from shacking (oh, don't you worry, I see you), or taking a drive down to Griffy Lake (because let me tell you, sunrises down there are gorgeous).
It also had turned out that I could easily bring all of my – if I'm being brutally honest – shit in a bunch of suitcases and random bags instead of paying to ship it or attempting to check it all without TSA breathing down my neck. So I packed up all of my belongings, and I've been driving to and from school ever since the semester started, and I just made my third trip home.
What I look forward to in the 13 hours I spend driving are simple things: for one, I've always preferred road trips to flying, because you get to the see all the land you're passing, and spending that much time just enjoying the nature around you is really cleansing for your mind and soul. I also look forward to spending 13 hours with myself. And though that sounds daunting, and granted I go stir-crazy usually around the fourth hour, I get to really reflect on what I've been dealing with, since I don't really have anything else to be doing. Every day, you are alone with your thoughts, and trapping them in a car makes you face things that you've been putting on the back burner, and I really get a lot of mental things taken care of.
Expanding on this, I also talk myself out of issues that I've been currently dealing with. If maybe I feel unsure, hesitant, or angry about a situations or series of events that have been happening, I make sure to talk myself through all the perspectives, but above all remind myself that it's okay to feel whatever I'm feeling. Now, it probably sounds like this drive is really emotional, but in a general sense of the word, I get to spend time with myself, admiring all of the qualities that not everyone gets to see every day, and really let myself go.
You may be asking, "But Miller, what do you do for 13 hours?" and that is a very valid question. The answer is very simple: I listen to music and think. I don't have any WiFi so I can't pull up Tumblr on my computer (damn), and when you're going 80 mph I think it's best to just leave the phone where it is – ahem away – so that's really all you can do, which, in my honest opinion, doesn't sound that bad.
For those that see me in my daily life, you know that I always have my headphones in 24/7 – on the bus, studying, sleeping, working out, everywhere – and it could be assumed that I have a really good playlist I recently created, or I'm listening to JBiebz' new album (LET'S BE REAL, IT'S GOOD). In actuality, I've got all the genres under the sun on my Spotify account, so I just pick whatever one I haven't listened to recently and just go about my day.
I apply the same thing while I'm driving, because a certain type of sound in the car can get really old, really fast. Unfortunately, classical music isn't the most fun (for some people, whereas I find it awesome), but a general pro tip is that pieces, especially symphonies, can go on for at least thirty minutes – not to mention Mahler 2, which is a grand two hours – so if you know any classical music you can listen to, I would say immerse yourself in those findings. If late-romantic Austrian symphonic music is not your forte (ha), then here is a pro tip for you: "The Nutcracker" from start to finish is about two hours and fifteen minutes, and that alone got me through the last part of Arkansas and well into Texas during my drive home for Thanksgiving break. Joy.
Listen to an album all the way through of an artist that's piqued your interest, but you just haven't had the time to really listen to their art, or maybe find one of the Spotify playlists for car rides (there are too many), and find some new music that way. For me, I try and listen to music in all of its entirety and listen for things I don't normally listen for. You could also belt your favorite songs in your car, because literally no one else can hear you, and so what if you look like a screaming banshee, this is Missouri and I am not from here, leave me alone.
Anyway...
My point of this extremely long article is that some people have expressed worry about the time commitment and the long drive and that road trips take longer than flying, but I am so happy that I do this for myself. I have the chance to just sit and think and reflect on everything, and I think all of us need that sometimes. You might not have a 13 hour drive ahead of you, but I want to make sure that everyone knows this is the way that I have what I like to call Miller Time, and you should have you time, too.
Also, did I mention that I got Dairy Queen in Arkansas and almost peed my pants from excitement?
