Personal Narrative: The Drive That Changed My Life

Drive is something that tons of people have not yet to grasp. The word drive itself is just as powerful as its definition. Having a drive for something means there’s passion in what you’re doing. My drive is to get out of bed every day and be productive. It’s my drive that pushes me to get to work and push myself forward. Having that drive for something isn’t something I would want to let go of either. The problem today is that it’s that it’s hard to have a drive for something since it may take a while to achieve that goal. Sometimes I want to give up just thinking it’s not worth it in the long run, but an underlying drive kicks in that keeps me going.
I was always interested in playing instruments as a kid. I first started playing the electric guitar when I was ten. What I imagined it would be like was way beyond what it actually was. I was under the assumption that I would be learning songs that I liked and would be able to pick up the instrument rather quickly. I soon realized that I would be learning out of a beginners guide for guitar. In the book was songs like Mary had a Little Lamb and Ode to Joy. A ten year old me
wasn’t too fond of these simple songs and thought I was too good for them. I never took the time out to practice and left my guitar in the corner after every lesson. I kept at it for three months and stopped playing the instrument completely. The drive wasn’t there to keep going every week because I had to play the same five simple songs. I needed something more than that. A few years later I started to learn how to play the drum set. It was a really neat instrument to learn because you can have your arms and legs play something different simultaneously. To have that kind of independence was something I wanted to learn and I kept at it for eight years. In the span of that eight years my drive for playing drums brought frustration and pain, but also many first place medals. If I didn’t have that drive constantly pushing me, I wouldn’t have bettered myself and became the percussionist that I am.
I want to learn all these instruments because it’s something that I plan on doing for a career. It may not have the most income, but I’d rather have a job that I love to do rather than work in a field that I hate. Currently I work a retail job and it’s the definition of a dead end job. A typical day is just standing around waiting for customers to come by and I have to try and get them to apply for a credit card. I make minimum wage and there are no benefits or any chance for a raise. For now, it’s a source of income, but I wouldn’t work this job for the rest of my life. Having the drive to surpass this job creates a stronger drive to learn more percussion instruments and study in school. The more determined I am in my music and studies can create a better job opportunity for myself and I can quit my dead end retail job. Instead of slaving over customers constant demands, I’ll be teaching kids how to be a successful percussionists.
These things all fall under the drive to be successful.
Success is portrayed differently in each person’s mind. However, to be successful, you have to have the drive to achieve that rank. In my church youth group there was always a music competition between the other churches in the tri-state area. It was my last year in the program, so I decided to enter under advanced percussion. The day I signed up was the day I started to write. The competition was months away, but I wanted to get ahead of the game so I can keep my first place title. By the time the competition came around, I had my whole piece written and hours of practice behind me. That constant drive kept me on my toes for this competition because I wanted to be the first place winner. My drive wouldn’t let me settle for second place due to the fact that I wanted to be
successful.
Drive can be a powerful thing to a person. Drive has let me progress in my studies and keep a strong mind towards things that I want to achieve in life. My drive has also let me push forward and complete daily tasks that I need to complete. It may take a while to complete these tasks, but it’s the fact that my drive won’t let me give up until they are completed. If I were to give up on every task that wasn’t compete instantly, I wouldn’t be productive and I’d be stuck behind a gigantic wall of procrastination. Drive is the motivation and passion to do something, and I would never want to lose sight of it.