Dear Readers,

There is a turning point in every person’s life — an age where the desired responsibilities and privileges fly at you with so much speed you’re illuminated with a constant feeling of: “I like this growing up thing.” For me, that first step came the day I was finally allowed to transition from passenger to driver and feel the freedom of the open road. It was an early Sunday morning when I turned and looked at my dad (who was buckled in the passenger’s seat and mumbling every prayer he had ever learned in Catholic grammar school) and asked him plainly: “Don’t get angry, but which one is the gas and which one is the brake again?” Instant horror struck his face as he realized these Sunday drives would always start with him checking his last will and testament before leaving the house.

As Sunday drives would progress my dad would give me small pieces of advice — snippets of wisdom he had acquired over the years about the road and driving itself. Among the many euphemisms and warnings he had thrown at me as he held on for dear life, there was one phrase that has always stuck with me: feather the gas.

When my dad told me to feather the gas, he literally meant for me to put my foot lightly on the pedal so the car wouldn’t jolt with every hard brake that my lead foot would slam. But looking back, there’s a lot more to it then just that; to feather the gas is an essential part of gauging yourself when life throws its biggest obstacles in front of you. The Sunday drives were supposed to be lessons in driving a car, but ultimately they became lessons in how to steer my life in the right direction.

Driving takes concentration and complete attentiveness to your surroundings, and so does life. Walking around with your head tucked down and blinders on can lead you down paths of dead ends and constant mistakes; when we ignore the world around us, we destroy our ability to move forward and gain the experiences that enrich our lives.

Driving takes patience despite the fact that most lose it from time to time. Quite often we let people and situations around us trigger the deepest and most volatile emotions within us. Learning to take a deep breathe when someone cuts in front of you or forces you to change directions is an imperative part of becoming a decent human being.

There is a perfect blend of caution and risk that driving involves, much like the later part of life does. There are always rules to follow and respect, but sometimes taking that leap of faith and venturing out into an unknown road is the key to self-discovery and enlightenment. There are countless times when we let fear and anxiety stop us from reaching our goals and full potential, but we must always remember to take the risk.

Roadblocks are good things, even though they stop us dead in our tracks. An obstacle in our journey forces us to reverse and find a new a path; usually the pursuit for a new route teaches us something about ourselves. Ultimately that block in the road forces us to ask ourselves an important question of reflection: How far are we willing to go? Will we follow those dirt paths and longer roads just to make it to our desired place? Or will we simply turn back around and never face that challenges that await us?

Driving is scary — there are crashes, injuries and deaths everyday, but it never stops us from getting in the car and living our lives. When we drive we have the ability to explore uncharted places — to meet some of the most amazing people –and to always turn around and take the winding road back home when life becomes too difficult. Opportunities are abundant with driving, all it takes is the courage to start the car and feather the gas.