Directionally challenged. If you search the term on Urban Dictionary, you'll find it defined as "Someone who has difficulty determining right from left".

Fun fact about me, I was marked down for looking over the wrong shoulder when making lane changes during drivers ed. I blame that, however, on being extremely nervous rather than being directionally challenged. Which I also am.

Living life directionally challenged is not easy. You find yourself very confused when you go out on your own and ultimately just wanting to go back home while you can still find it.

My family likes to play this fun game with me, actually. Whenever we're out and walking around, I always get a "Hey Amanda, what direction are we going in?" Something about pissing me off and calling out my inability to activate my internal compass (that apparently everyone else has) seems to really be entertaining. Because I never fail to get that question wrong.

It doesn't matter if I can see where the sun is rising or setting. It doesn't matter if I know where the lake is from where I'm standing (because apparently that's a dead giveaway for people in the midwest?). It actually still probably wouldn't matter if I were using a real compass. I still wouldn't know where I'm going.

Now that I'm a little more comfortable with driving, I'm more willing to go out on the road by myself instead of relying on others or public transportation to get me where I need to be (Which was a nightmare to figure out, by the way). However, I must always have the route mapped out for me and the audio directions on, even if I'm driving somewhere a mile or two away. I must also mentally prepare for which lane to turn into when I change streets so I can avoid switching lanes when turning to the next one. It's a difficult life.

I have simply decided that knowing where you're going comes naturally, or it doesn't. My dad and my brother are natural navigators. Detour in the road? No problem. I on the other hand, would pull over in a panic. Tears might be involved too. And if my phone is dead? No paper map could save me then.

I've gotten into the habit of always having a portable charger ready to go because of how much I do rely on my phone and services like Google Maps. My parents are actually a bit fearful at times of letting me out of the house when they know I'm driving somewhere I'm not familiar with. I mean, why trust someone who is directionally challenged alone in a car?

I am never able to fulfill my duty as shotgun, either. Being asked to be the navigator makes me break out into cold sweat, and yet my family and friends will still ask me to guide them while they're driving. I misguided my boyfriend while driving on the highway during a storm - back to my house, I might add. You think I'd be familiar with the areas and streets that lead back to where I live. You thought wrong, friend.

I'd like to think that maybe one day I might actually know where I'm going. But until then, I will carry on to live my blissfully confused, directionally challenged life.