Learning to Drive
Learning to Drive
The sun was just rising as I followed my father outside. I had no idea what was so important that I needed to be awake at the crack of dawn, but he sure was excited about it. When I looked down the driveway I couldn’t believe my eyes. There sat a brand new Audi A6. I sprinted over to it and ran my hands over the glassy smooth hood. “Jordan, you earned this car,” my father said. “You’ve been busting your ass off in school and around the house, and your mother and I want to show you how proud we are of you.” “Thank you so much Dad!” “Your welcome, son. I know you’re excited, but this is not a toy, and I’ll take it from you if you mistreat it.” “I know, Dad,” I said. I honestly wasn’t listening to anything he said. My mind was focused on the car. “No Jordan, look at me,” he said. I peered up at him, struggling to take my eyes off of the beautiful car. “Consider this car a privilege that will be taken from you if you do not respect it,” he said. “Alright, I got it,” I said. “Can I take it for a drive?” “Yeah go on, have fun,” he said.
At the age of seventeen, freedom was rare for me. My parents treated me like a little child, always watching my every move, and telling me what to do. Of course all of the protection was because they “loved me so much,” but a little space would have been nice. Unlike my friends, I had a weekend curfew of 11:00 and going out on weeknights was never an option. These were rules that I strictly adhered to in order to appease my father. He was a large man, standing tall at 6’1” and weighing nearly 250 pounds. My friends joke that when he puts on his black pinstriped suit with his slicked back hair he looks like the head of the mafia. We told these jokes about my father, but at the end of the day we all feared him. It wasn’t just his appearance that was intimidating, but it was his personality as well. My father was a man of principle. He doesn’t steal, he holds to all of his
The sun was just rising as I followed my father outside. I had no idea what was so important that I needed to be awake at the crack of dawn, but he sure was excited about it. When I looked down the driveway I couldn’t believe my eyes. There sat a brand new Audi A6. I sprinted over to it and ran my hands over the glassy smooth hood. “Jordan, you earned this car,” my father said. “You’ve been busting your ass off in school and around the house, and your mother and I want to show you how proud we are of you.” “Thank you so much Dad!” “Your welcome, son. I know you’re excited, but this is not a toy, and I’ll take it from you if you mistreat it.” “I know, Dad,” I said. I honestly wasn’t listening to anything he said. My mind was focused on the car. “No Jordan, look at me,” he said. I peered up at him, struggling to take my eyes off of the beautiful car. “Consider this car a privilege that will be taken from you if you do not respect it,” he said. “Alright, I got it,” I said. “Can I take it for a drive?” “Yeah go on, have fun,” he said.
At the age of seventeen, freedom was rare for me. My parents treated me like a little child, always watching my every move, and telling me what to do. Of course all of the protection was because they “loved me so much,” but a little space would have been nice. Unlike my friends, I had a weekend curfew of 11:00 and going out on weeknights was never an option. These were rules that I strictly adhered to in order to appease my father. He was a large man, standing tall at 6’1” and weighing nearly 250 pounds. My friends joke that when he puts on his black pinstriped suit with his slicked back hair he looks like the head of the mafia. We told these jokes about my father, but at the end of the day we all feared him. It wasn’t just his appearance that was intimidating, but it was his personality as well. My father was a man of principle. He doesn’t steal, he holds to all of his