I’m sure most of you know that I recently made the long trek from my home in Florida to school in Massachusetts. It was approximately 1100 miles and took place over the course of a few days. At this point, I’m pretty used to long car trips because I’ve made the drive up to Pennsylvania a few times to visit relatives. As a result, I’m not bothered by hour after hour in the car, although I can remember a time where car trips weren’t as enjoyable.

Long can be a relative term. To elementary school me, “long” meant about three hours in the car. I vividly recall being bored and impatient whenever we would take trips to the Orlando area. I even once wrote a “book” titled “How to Survive Long Car Trips” on scrap paper during one of the lengthy journeys. Some of the time-killing methods mentioned were playing the alphabet game (good luck with Q or Z!), playing a handheld game device, and writing your own book about spending time in the car.

In recent memory, I haven’t been bothered by long car trips. The fact that I can drive probably has to do with that. For the past three years, I’ve been a fully licensed driver and contribute to the time on the road. When I drive for two or three hours at a time, trips go by quickly! Driving keeps my mind occupied and as a result, time goes by fast. Even when I’m not driving, I like to sit in the passenger seat and look out the front windshield. I enjoy mindlessly watching the traffic and am surprised when a half hour has gone by. I know not everyone can sit still without doing much and be entertained, but I’m glad it passes the time for me.

Long story short, I used to get annoyed by car trips but now I don’t mind them very much. The 24 hours of driving up here wasn’t that bad at all. It’s nice to have a companion in the car, too. I’m not so sure I would enjoy a long drive like that by myself, but being a passenger and splitting up the driving is fine by me!