My First Time Driving
I’ve had an affinity towards cars since I was learning how to drive. I got my Learner’s Permit at the age of 15 and wanted a car bad. . While my friends were talking about Audi’s and BMW’s, I was dreaming of owning any car, really.
It’s funny because I really didn’t enjoy the first few experiences I had learning how to drive. I remember my sister taking me out to learn how to drive in her ’94 Ford Explorer Sport and I could barely go over 15 mph because I was too scared. Changing gears (pun intended) over to learning how to drive a manual in my brother’s ’96 Ford Mustang, I was still anxious. However, I did manage to make it a little over 15 mph in the parking lot. My biggest worry was that I felt that if I had veered over just a little to the left or to the right, I could hit something.
And I was right, that could happen… but oddly enough, the more you drive the more you don’t think about the danger. My feeling of uneasiness every time I drove, slowly became an addiction for driving. The exotic cars my friends in high school would talk about never really interested me. I felt like they were so out of reach–unattainable. Why bother long for a car that I could probably never afford? The thought of actually owning a car and caring for it seemed much more interesting to me.
Yearning for a Car
When I had my Learner’s Permit and my Driver’s License, I wanted my own car so bad. I would walk or bike to school everyday and look at every car that was parked on the side of the street, parked in driveways, driving down the road and think about how much I wanted to own that car. I’d even sit in our living room which had a window that looked out into the front yard.
In my head, I’d be thinking what if I owned that car–or that car–mentally pointing out the neighbor’s car. A late 90’s BMW 3 series sedan in a Topaz Blue color or their black mid-90’s Honda Civic coupe. I can’t count how many hours I spent daydreaming about cars and more cars and how I oh-so-dearly wanted one.
Finally, my dad bought me my first car in the Summer between the end of high school and the beginning of college. He shelled out $2k exactly to buy me a white ’94 Mazda Protege LX. Not a pretty looking car, not fast car by any means, but a reliable one. And as you could imagine with me finally owning a car, I drove the hell out of it. And, I spent a lot of time researching about the car and what modifications I could do with it.
This was more than 10 years ago, yet to this day I still have this passion. I love the memories that are conjured up when I think about specific cars I’ve had and the experiences I’ve had surrounding them. With these vehicles being so much a part of our lives, I can’t imagine anyone who does not have a story about an experience with a car they’ve had. I think that’s what this blog is all about: sharing my memories and experience about cars.
