While at school we are bombarded with learning new things inside the classroom on a daily basis. We try to cram as many facts into our head at a time right before a test, hoping to remember every little last bit of our notes. Are we so concerned about what we are learning inside the classroom to notice what we are actually learning outside of it? Maybe the lessons are small, but they are most likely more valuable than anything that we are learning having to do with our major. In the grand scheme of things, the subject that we should care about most is our life, and I think that sometimes we can forget and overlook this fact.

Over the past couple of weeks at school a lot has gone on not only in my life but also my friend’s. I had one of the best weekends in a while maybe three weeks ago. I didn’t necessarily do things that were all too exciting, but I did them with someone who I felt like I haven’t seen in a while. It was a Friday night and we didn’t feel like sitting around so we just went for a drive. People usually get in the car and know exactly where they are heading to and start driving towards that place. This time, that wasn’t the case. We got in the car knowing that we didn’t know where we were going and just drove around. This is something that would typically stress me out because I like to know exactly what I am doing but this time it was different. It was at this moment while sitting in the car with my friend, listening to music and talking that I realized something.

I came to the realization that maybe life isn’t about the destination, but rather the journey that we take to get there. On top of that, maybe it isn’t even 100% about the journey, but rather who we journey with. In life, I’ve found that people try to cover up silence because they get too uncomfortable in it. Other times we find someone with who the silence is in some way comforting. The silence doesn’t feel awkward, but rather natural. No conversation needs to be forced in order to fill the void. Sometimes silence with someone allows us time to reflect on the memories and moments that we have with them.

Sometimes it takes a long car ride with a friend to learn more about them. Things that are so simple, such as where they want to live when they grow up. It’s times like these when we get to understand and know each other better, because for a while we are able to step away from our busy lives. My friend had driven me to pick up my car, so we were then in separate cars on the way back to school. It was when I was driving behind them that I realized that pretty soon they wouldn’t be here at school and my everyday would be different, whether I wanted to admit it or not. It was when I lost them because they were around a bend in front of me that I realized that time may get away from us, and at times we may not be up to date on each others lives. But when they came into distance again I realized that there will and always will be time to catch up. With technology today it doesn’t matter the distance between people. We will always be a quick text, phone call, or video chat away. This is something that helps the goodbyes be a little more bearable. We can listen to the songs that they introduced us to until the next time we see them, pretending they are jamming out with us.

So from driving to no where, lessons can be learned even if we weren’t looking for them. With every passing car time flies by before our eyes. Before we know it we are back to where we started, without realizing that we had ever turned around. Time flies by with people who help you find yourself and grow as a person. The minutes turn into hours, to days, to months. Yet as time flies by, you can still remember how and when you met like it was yesterday. You can remember the tiniest details that you’re not even sure why you remember, but somehow you do. However, like any highway we can look two ways, either forward or behind. We look look behind and revisit the times that we’ve shared with people and the memories that we’ve made with them. We can also look ahead, to the times still yet to come, to who we will become as individuals. So maybe we should drive around more, whether or not we have a destination in mind it doesn’t really matter. Take a friend, listen to music, get to know each other more, and take in the world around you.