I think the first time I felt independent was when I finally got my driver’s license. It took me a while to go to the DMV to actually get it because I was so afraid I would fail. When I finally did take my road test, the guy with the clipboard in the passenger seat did not help. He wanted me to pretend that I was parking going downward on a hill when we were actually heading up a hill. When I moved the wheels the wrong way, at least he didn’t mark it against me!
The first summer I had my driver’s license, my aunt let me borrow her silver Cadillac. My sister, cousin and I bounced into the car. We were going to the movies. As we drove, our arms loosely draped out of the open windows, we turned the radio up and sang along at the top of our voices.
Highway to the Danger Zone.
We were going to see the best summer movie EVER.
I feel the need…the need for speed!
That’s right. We were going to see Top Gun.
While the silver Cadillac didn’t accelerate using g-forces, that sense of freedom on a warm summer night was exhilarating. Sometimes being the oldest child in the family is awesome!
Sometimes, though, being the oldest child is also scary. I was the first to go away to college. I loved being away from home…and hated it. Those first few months were really hard. It was before cell phones and email, so I had to call my family collect. Will you accept the charges?
I don’t remember why, but I guess I thought I had to be independent and I held off calling my parents for 9 weeks. I was busy after all, hanging out with my new friends 24 hours a day, taking classes, doing homework, and going to the student union. We did send real letters to each other (you can read some of them here). When I finally heard my mom and dad’s voice on the phone, however, I remember feeling so happy and yet missed them so much that I burst into tears!
Independence; sometimes exhilarating, sometimes heartbreaking.
When do you remember feeling independent?
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Definitely when I first got my driver’s license and going out to pick up friends at night was high on my list to feel independence myself, too. Just recalling it and seems like a lifetime ago, but still totally do remember that feeling here, too 😉
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It does seem like a lifetime ago! It’s fun to “take a drive down memory lane” though, isn’t it!
My first trip out was a near-death experience! I started driving on the right side of the road, but since I was living in England at the time, I should drive on the left! My colleagues screamed at me and it took a while before any of them would willingly get in my car again. But, since I was the only one with a car…
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Ha! I don’t think I would be able to drive in England! My dad recently drove in New Zealand, and he scared my step-mom a couple of times by driving on the wrong side of road.
I remember feeling independent the first time our furnace broke in our new house. There wasn’t a landlord to call for repairs and no one else was going to pay for it. I got everything taken care of and we all survived that cold, cold week!
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