FREE ESSAY ON THE DRIVING WAY

THE DRIVING WAY

Selecting a career path is the easiest decision one can make; I have chosen five in the
nine years since high school. The problem is selecting a path and following it to
completion.
When I returned to school for my most recent career path, I worked hard and did well for
the first several months. Then, I started staying out late with a young lady, and the
amount of time that I applied to school decreased by an order of magnitude. After several
weeks with her, it was apparent that my grades were going to be bad. I told my father
that I was not doing well in school, and that I was going to quit school to work full
time again. He surprised me when he replied, Do you remember the first time that I let
you drive?
Although I vaguely remembered the event, I said, Of course I do.
Father then ask, Do you still drive as poorly as you did that day?
Sensing one of the old man's long-winded speeches about to start, I harshly said, No,
what's your point?
After my abrasive reply, Father shook his head and started reading a book.
Although I did not want to hear his speech, I could not keep from wondering what he
wanted to say. I thought about the Saturday morning that my father let me drive for the
first time. He drove me to a stretch of road so long and straight that you could see it
converge in the horizon. He pulled over and told me to swap seats with him. Despite being
nervous, I wasted no time getting behind the wheel. Timidly, I put the car in drive and
pulled into the road. Father then said, All that you have to do is point it straight and
keep it between the lines.
With father's advice about driving in mind, I carefully lined the car between the lines
and headed down the road. I did well for the first several minutes. Then, my mind
wandered, and I started paying less attention to the road. In a few seconds, I felt a
thump and heard the car hit gravel. I overreacted and jerked the wheel; the car slid
sideways, and suddenly we stopped. I was sure that my father was going to yell about my
poor driving, but he quietly said, Son, let me clarify my advice to you. It is not only
about starting in the right direction and then forgetting what you are doing. It is about
always paying attention to where you are and where you want to be. It is about making
subtle corrections; if a correction is to big, it will always send you out of control.
After I pondered the old man's driving advice, I decided not to quit school. I stopped
seeing the young lady, and dropped two classes—which left time for me to
concentrate on my remaining classes. Because of the correction, I finished the semester
on the dean's list. Almost one year has passed since then, and I am still going down the
same path; I pay attention and make minor corrections when corrections are needed.