Riding through the mundane
Last blog post of the semester! Today I'm going to write about something seemingly ordinary to my life that could possibly make for decent essay material.
Car rides. Literally, everyone you've ever met has been on one (with the exception that you met a newborn at the hospital, today). However, everyone still has slightly different interpretations and opinions of their rides even if you ride them together. Opinions on long car rides, specifically, I find vary in opinion even more vastly. Some people hate the cramped spaces, while others love the sense of adventure brought with the territory. Personally, I think they're okay. Since my parents live in different states, I've had a lot of experience with long car rides; so I've learned to utilize them the best I can.
Since there's no wifi out in the cornfields, I've found the 2.5-hour drive between houses grants me time to think about things I wouldn't normally have time for. Although half the time I indulge myself with sleep, the other half I find myself drifting into the conscious realms of creativity. I think some of my thoughts and ideas would make good essay topics. For example, I could write about my idea on how to make air/hydrogen-powered cars. I thought of this a long time ago but the plan was basically to, instead of having gas cans, have a huge air canister like you would have for hair spray. The way it would work is you could, initially, fill your car using the electric air pumps like you would use for car tires; then, your car could get air while you're driving (much like how some air conditioner settings work). A problem for this is you'd most likely need a very high amount of air to move the car in this atmosphere. Therefore, I thought hydrogen might work. With hydrogen, however, you would only be able to fill the car at a pump. I don't know for sure if hydrogen or what would work better, or if it would even work at all (seeing nobody else came up with it). I'm copyrighting my idea right here though.
Another thing I think about on car rides is my future. I think this is a great way to utilize my time as it is important and valid to my life. Specifically, I like to think about what I would want to be when I grow up and what I should major in college is. For example, I thought I wanted to be a surgeon for a while, then a journalist, and now I'm set on veterinarian. Laying out my thought process here would probably be boring but I think it could make a good essay topic because it would be cool to look back on what I thought I was going become before I am who I will be.
I also sometimes like to think about social and world issues, such as pollution, gender stereotypes, and global warming. I think there are many ways to reduce plastic use and the general public is too lazy to use them. I also think the plastic oil companies are run by boomers who aren't necessarily worried about the geological footprint they're leaving, and mostly concerned with getting the most money they can before they die. This is my opinion, however, I am not entirely well-versed in the subject. I do know about how plastic is ruining the earth and ocean and needs to be stopped before any more irreversible damage is done, however, our society has grown up so lazy and uncaring that not enough people are being proactive on the subject.
Anyway, overall, I believe any of those would make decent essay subjects. To any of you that made it this far, I thank you for your attention and wish for you less anxiety of the future and good luck on finals!
Car rides. Literally, everyone you've ever met has been on one (with the exception that you met a newborn at the hospital, today). However, everyone still has slightly different interpretations and opinions of their rides even if you ride them together. Opinions on long car rides, specifically, I find vary in opinion even more vastly. Some people hate the cramped spaces, while others love the sense of adventure brought with the territory. Personally, I think they're okay. Since my parents live in different states, I've had a lot of experience with long car rides; so I've learned to utilize them the best I can.
Since there's no wifi out in the cornfields, I've found the 2.5-hour drive between houses grants me time to think about things I wouldn't normally have time for. Although half the time I indulge myself with sleep, the other half I find myself drifting into the conscious realms of creativity. I think some of my thoughts and ideas would make good essay topics. For example, I could write about my idea on how to make air/hydrogen-powered cars. I thought of this a long time ago but the plan was basically to, instead of having gas cans, have a huge air canister like you would have for hair spray. The way it would work is you could, initially, fill your car using the electric air pumps like you would use for car tires; then, your car could get air while you're driving (much like how some air conditioner settings work). A problem for this is you'd most likely need a very high amount of air to move the car in this atmosphere. Therefore, I thought hydrogen might work. With hydrogen, however, you would only be able to fill the car at a pump. I don't know for sure if hydrogen or what would work better, or if it would even work at all (seeing nobody else came up with it). I'm copyrighting my idea right here though.
Another thing I think about on car rides is my future. I think this is a great way to utilize my time as it is important and valid to my life. Specifically, I like to think about what I would want to be when I grow up and what I should major in college is. For example, I thought I wanted to be a surgeon for a while, then a journalist, and now I'm set on veterinarian. Laying out my thought process here would probably be boring but I think it could make a good essay topic because it would be cool to look back on what I thought I was going become before I am who I will be.
I also sometimes like to think about social and world issues, such as pollution, gender stereotypes, and global warming. I think there are many ways to reduce plastic use and the general public is too lazy to use them. I also think the plastic oil companies are run by boomers who aren't necessarily worried about the geological footprint they're leaving, and mostly concerned with getting the most money they can before they die. This is my opinion, however, I am not entirely well-versed in the subject. I do know about how plastic is ruining the earth and ocean and needs to be stopped before any more irreversible damage is done, however, our society has grown up so lazy and uncaring that not enough people are being proactive on the subject.
Anyway, overall, I believe any of those would make decent essay subjects. To any of you that made it this far, I thank you for your attention and wish for you less anxiety of the future and good luck on finals!
Car rides and drives are great times to do things you would usually throw at the end of your list cause you claim you have no time. You don't have any distractions. No laptops, phones, no homework, no people sometimes, just the road. It's the perfect time to count your blessings, its the perfect time to call your grandparents, its the perfect time to slee- I mean listen to that podcast you just can't fit time in for. Maybe you'll even look at the sky and smile.
ReplyDeleteI really like car rides because of the lack of things to do, the simplicity of them. Whether it's sleeping or looking outside at the passing scenery, car rides allow for a peaceful moment of thought that isn't possible in a lot of other scenarios, like you mentioned. Long car rides also serve as a moment to sit down and talk with someone. I normally wouldn't talk to my dad voluntarily, but when I go on a long car ride and sit shotgun, I end up talking about a lot of different topics and learning a lot about my dad and about myself honestly.
ReplyDeleteI really like long car rides for the same reasons. It's a distraction-free zone, no phones or people, and I love just driving on my own with nothing but my thoughts. Long car rides are definitely a good opportunity to unwind!
ReplyDeleteAlso interesting idea about the hydrogen-powered cars :)
I think car rides are a good place to clear you mind as well as explore your thoughts. I like to stare out the window and as my vision stops focusing I just deep dive into my thoughts. Although I like the time to think sometimes I am just ready to get out of the small and confined space. I really enjoyed reading your blog post.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an eye-opening post. Usually I find car rides to be so burdensome and unnecessary, but your writing helped me realize that they actually have some purpose. We often get so caught-up in our personal life and getting through it day by day that we don't have time to realize the horrors that are happening around us in the real world.
ReplyDelete