Down to Drive: Driving creates a space to process feelings and relieve stress

6 a.m. cheer practice. Physics test during third hour. Pick up nanny kids at 3:15 p.m. Harbinger deadline tonight until who knows how late.

Each day, my schedule is packed with an overwhelming amount of activities. I drive myself insane thinking about my upcoming schedule. What time will I be home tonight? When will I have time to do my math homework? I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t stressed.

Then I get in my car.

Ever since I was handed the keys to my black Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, it’s been my happy place. My five-minute drive between activities is the one thing that keeps me calm. It’s my one time during my day when I have nothing to be concerned about — besides following the speed limit.

My nerves dissolve away as soon as I hear the jingle my car plays once I get inside. Belting out One Direction’s greatest hits — even on my way to cheer practice at 6:05 a.m — keeps me from panicking about the English essay I need to write later. Climbing out of my car, it’s like I’m a completely different person than when I stepped in.

The stress relief is an added bonus, but I just genuinely enjoy driving. There’s nothing I would rather do than drive around for hours on end. If I have an extra five minutes to kill, I’m taking the longest route possible to get to my house. If my mom needs a Target order picked up, I’m reaching for my keys before she’s off the couch

I’m not even that good of a driver. My parking job is always crooked and the idea of merging onto the highway brings tears to my eyes. It’s not my driving skills that make it so enjoyable, it’s simply the independence that comes with the keys that I can’t get over. If I was only driving because I was good at it, you wouldn’t often catch me behind the wheel.

Some days I just need to escape from my endless pile of AP US History homework. Other days I just feel like driving alone for an hour blasting country music. But no matter what the issue is, my car will always provide a solution and a safe space for me to process my feelings and relieve my stress.