Some people never learn how to drive. Some people do know how to drive and absolutely hate it. It's mind-blowing to me that people hate it or refuse to drive because there are so many amazing moments that you never get to feel or experience when you haven't been driving or in your own car. The actual driving isn't the thing I'm talking about. The driving can absolutely suck - but it's those other moments that make driving so beautiful. It's those moments that you don't get on a subway or on a walk that make you appreciate being in your car so much more. These are the moments when your car can be your favorite place.
1. Pulling into your driveway after a long day
Yes, you can come home after a long day, but there's something about pulling in your driveway or your parking lot to your apartment that is a different feeling. There's a moment when you're in between getting out of your car and going into your house that's so peaceful. You pull in to your parking spot and you take a deep breath and whether you're in silence or there's music playing, you're at peace. No one is talking to you, no one is reaching out or demanding anything of you, you don't have to pay attention to your blinker or navigating roads, you're just home. It's a moment of peace in your life and having a car and driving gives you that moment.
2. Rolling down your windows at the first change of a season
When winter turns to spring, spring into summer, or that first smell of autumn, that first chill of winter - these changes in season are incredible when you hop into your car and roll down your windows. You feel the air differently when you're cruising down main street or on a back road. You feel the weather shift and you feel the difference while driving, and it's a moment of appreciation for the world around you. There's nothing more calming than that chance in weather and the home of your car.
3. Blasting your favorite song without a care in the world
Yes, you can do this in a bar, in your earbuds, at work, wherever, but it's different in your car. When you're driving and that song comes on - whether it's your dancing jam or the song that hurts your heart in the best ways - there's nothing like having it blare out the speakers of your car. You can sing as terribly as you want or you can break down crying. It doesn't matter what you do, but when that song starts and you're in your car, it's a feeling of complete freedom. It hits you in a different way that it would in any other place and that's the beauty of it.
Driving can be stressful but when you catch these moments and they remind you to love the little moments in your life, being in your car is worth it. It might not be the getting from point A to point B, but you can appreciate these things, regardless if you're a public transportation person or a driver-lover like me. You won't have these moments anywhere but your car. Make sure to appreciate these moments the next time you've had a long day, your song comes on, or you catch the first glimpse of a change of season.
man running in forestPhoto by 
