Driving — some people love it and some people hate it. Sure driving to work, school, and dinner is no problem, but what about when the twenty-minute ride to school turns into a twenty-hour drive? I have always embarked on these long car rides with someone, however, I just recently had to do it all by myself. I honestly did not prepare at all for this trip, so I basically created my own tricks and tips along the way.

Break up the trip. Typically when I drove with my mom, dad, or boyfriend, we would complete the trip in one day without needing to stay overnight anywhere. But trying to drive numerous hours in one sitting is actually really exhausting. Find somewhere along the way and book a hotel to get a good night’s sleep in.

Know if you’re a day or night driver. I personally hate driving at night. My high beams need to be on or else I cannot see anything. Also, night driving makes me extremely tired. However, some people are excellent night drivers. Know when you drive best and book your road trip around it.

Make a playlist. So I didn’t exactly make a playlist because I was so, so, so behind on the whole "prepping for a road trip" but anyway, that doesn’t matter. I cannot listen to slow music when driving or else I’ll fall asleep. I recommend creating your own playlist on Spotify and continuously adding new music.

Stop when you're in a safe place. There are plenty of gas stations, McDonald's, and rest areas on the road but you have to keep in mind that not all of them are safe. Driving long distances means that you will come across many towns that you don’t know. Stop when you are in a safe place and always call someone and stay on the phone.

Be gas savvy. My number one rule is this: do not let your gas get under half a tank. You never know when there won’t be a gas station for 200 miles, so you need to play it safe. As my mom always says, “It's better to be safe than sorry.”

FaceTime. Talking on the phone causes all sorts of safety issues especially since you only have one hand on the wheel. I have learned the perfect solution and if you have a good dashboard which allows your phone to fit, then I highly recommend FaceTiming your friends and family. It is a great way to pass the time, too.

Don’t keep looking at the ETA. I continuously kept looking at my GPS to see how much time I had left and it made the time go by way too slow. Refrain from looking at the time, keep your eyes on the road, and jam out to some cool music.