Learning Experiences 4

Learning Experience 4

            I am a Nebraska kid. I was born there, grew up there, and have almost all of my family there. Everything I have learned has come from my experiences in that state and it has helped shape me into who I am today. One of the many things I learned growing up in Nebraska is how to handle snow while driving. My cold-weather instincts came back to me in full force this weekend as Fort Worth was hit with this rare storm. I can drive in this. So I thought.

            On Friday morning, my dad picked me up and took me to get breakfast with my brother Charlie. My dad and Charlie were in town doing a college visit at TCU and made it in right before the storm hit. After breakfast, we went back to my dad’s hotel room and hung out. Charlie and dad watched football and news all day while I sat in my dad’s room and studied for finals. At about 3 o’clock, my dad asked me to run some errands for him. He needed me to go to Target and grab a few things and since I knew the roads here better than my dad, he sent me. He thought he had nothing to worry about because of how much experience I have in the snow. But as it turned out, my experience only got me so far. On the way to target, I slid out on a turn and drilled my bumper on a curb.

            Driving to Target, I felt invincible. All of these Texas drivers were clueless I thought. In my mind, I was the best driver on the road. In fact, I probably was given the conditions. But my attitude of “I can do anything” didn’t serve me too well. I wasn’t as invincible as I thought and I definitely learned my lesson that day.

            It started after I left the hotel. As I was heading down university, I saw a car turning out in front of me about 100 yards away. Thinking ahead, I got over a lane to give the other car some room to slowly trudge out onto the road. I switched lanes to quickly and spun out on the ice. After making one full spin across traffic, my front-left bumper drilled the curb. I hit the breaks and sat there for about a minute to gather myself. After calming my nerves, I got out of the car to survey the damage. Fortunately, it was just a little ding. My dad wasn’t thrilled but he understood that accidents happen, especially in this weather.

            This was a great learning experience for me overall because I need to know that I’m not always number one. And even when I am number one, I am never invincible. On Friday I was the number one driver out there. There’s no question about that. I do boast a lot of experience in snow and ice driving. But I let that get to my head. Even though I was the best out there, I wasn’t invincible. Nobody is. My attitude cost my dad a few hundred dollars to fix the car and caused me to suffer embarrassment and humiliation.

            I will learn from this experience and better adjust my attitude the next time I’m out driving in these conditions. I definitely don’t want to damage another car and go through that again.