Splash No. 180 - Let's Drive
Let's Drive
While I was growing up, my family was big on road trips, which meant that we spent lots of time in the car, and I grew to get used to it as a place to read, or zone out, or just chat with the family. Yet, it always seemed absurdly dangerous to me, the way that we just accepted the fact that we were driving upwards of 60 miles per hour, just a few feet away from other cars doing the same, and piloted by people who could make a mistake at any moment. And later, when I was a part of a couple of minor car accidents, my fear only grew, as I realized how carelessly some folks seemed to drive.
The fear slowed me down a bit, keeping me from getting my license until I was 20-years-old, a solid four years after most of my classmates. Yet, like with most things, time helped me to relax, as I slowly started driving more and more — first only trips to the grocery store or my aunt’s house, and later, further drives down the highway to the outlet mall or campus. My fear wasn’t fully dispelled, but growing comfortable behind the wheel gave me a sense of agency, a feeling that even if others drove recklessly, I could control my own fate and keep everyone safe.
To get to that point though, I needed to find a way to get out of my head while driving. Even after getting my license and driving for a while, I would sometimes start to stress out by thinking too much about every action. That was until I started playing music in the car, which transformed the whole thing. No longer was driving a stressful and necessary evil to get from point A to point B, it was now the most immersive music-listening experience I could find, one where I wasn’t distracted by what was on my phone, one where I couldn’t just tap around to find a new song or album immediately, one where the speakers surrounded me and I could hear parts of it differently, all while witnessing the outside world.
Different music feels different based on the time of the year, time of day. In the warm summer days, country music makes a lot more sense when driving on the small windy roads of North Georgia. It’s as if I’ve finally been put into the worlds that these songs were written for, the piece I had missing. Meanwhile, in these November nights, I like to listen to jazz, which makes the car feel warmer, the world a bit slower, the stars little brighter. Other days, old Bollywood tunes make an appearance, turning the car into the living rooms we’ve lived in throughout our lives, as we sing along to the songs from movies we watched in years past, houses past.
I don’t get to drive much since I live in a city where owning a car is largely unnecessary, opting for public transit and walking to get around. This is probably why it feels so special to just drive around and enjoy the music, even when I get every red light. It’s just another joyous part of being home.
Drops of the Week
PLAYLIST - Masego Digs Jazz - one of the jazz playlists I like to listen to when driving at night!
ARTICLE - "Notable Sandwiches #7: Bánh Mì" w/ Soleil Ho by Talia Bracha Lavin - really interesting dive into the history of banh mi and one Vietnamese-American's relationship to it
POEM - "The Lost Lagoon" by Emily Pauline Johnson - "I dream to-night that my paddle blurs/The purple shade where the seaweed stirs"
With each day, we can move closer to a more equitable world. Reminders:
Donate to Help Afghan Refugees Settle in NorCal Mutual Aid Networks
Anti-racism resources
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Happy Thanksgiving,
Nikhil