Personal Narrative: The Machine On The Open Road

It was a brisk autumn evening and there was a slight breeze in the air as I made my way to the car. My heart was pounding and my palms were clamming up which made it difficult to open the door as I was fumbling around with the car keys. My father waited on the opposite side of the vehicle looking both impatient and scared all at the same time. “If you can’t even open the door for God’s sake, how the hell are you going to man the machine on the open road?” he questioned in a jarring manner. His harsh comment caught me by surprise and stunned me, forcing me to ask myself if he really doubted my ability to drive or was just giving me a hard time to watch my squirm around uncomfortably. At last I found the key to the car and unlocked the door and entered the vehicle carefully as if there were landmines on the seat and I had to quickly scan the area to make sure it was safe to sit down. After I adjusted the mirrors to perfection and had taken a deep breath, I
started the car and put it in drive (or so I thought). When I stepped on the gas pedal the car lurched backwards taking my father and me both by surprise. Understandably, I shrieked and jammed on the breaks leaving us both in awe and fright. “That was an accident” I muttered trying to break the silence. This event was one of complete and utter embarrassment: not only did I manage to make a fool of myself, but I endangered my father in the process. Despite the unfortunate and almost fatal outcome however, it served as a valuable lesson and one that I’d never forget - always check to make sure you are in the right gear. This trivial fact will forever be etched into my memory as every time I enter a car and sit in the driver’s seat, it resurfaces and reminds of that horrible day. This moment, like many others, served as a milestone in my youth - a moment that was miserable, yet necessary.
We all know and have experienced these times in our lives - leaving an essay at home, forgetting to pay our taxes, or neglecting to refill the gas tank leaving us stranded on the side of the highway. At the time, they can be embarrassing, painful, and detrimental to something or someone we care about; however, they are possibly the most valuable moments in our lives. As humans, we tend to remember our misfortunes more distinctly than our successes as that feeling of dread and sorrow tends to brand itself into the side of our brain, triggering an immediate reminder when we come close to making the same mistake twice. Therefore, we grow and develop as individuals more so through our failures. For me, the first time I learned how to drive taught me both to be careful with a vehicle - they can deadly and harmful to others and yourself - and that mistakes are okay to make as long as you grow from
them.