As I hold it in my hand, I think about how it shows that my parents trust me. It shows that I’m now self-reliant. It shows that I’m now grown up. I think of the relief I felt when I passed my test. The excitement I felt when I told my family. The excitement I felt when I told my friends. I think about how it's on a blue lanyard. It’s with a key to my house and a keychain from Barcelona. It’s light in my hand. I think of all of this before I drive to school.

I focused on the lines on the ground and the side of the Junior High as a pull up between the white and yellow dashed lines on the ground. I then reversed the car and backed into the yellow outlined spot surrounded by cones. I really felt the nerves by then. I pulled forward out of the spot and pulled right before the parallel parking spot. I turned the wheel all the way to the right and slowly started to back up. I then turned the wheel all the way to the left and continued to slowly back the car into the dangerously small spot lined with cones. Next thing I know, I’m on the road. And then, what felt like 5 minutes later, I passed the driving test. 

Driving down the road makes me concentrate and pay attention to the world around me. I look around at the other cars, the speedometer, and the fuel gauge. I look at the side of the road to see a dead squirrel. Although the radio is not up too high, I hear the voices of the radio hosts. As I come up to the stop sign, I put on my blinker and slow down to stop. The person ahead of me goes straight and I turn right onto Jackman Rd. I drive down the road where I turn into the Junior High. I head to the back of the building and park the car. I did it. I just drove by myself for the first time. 

My car is where my car keys are most of the time. It’s a silver Jeep Commander with black wheels and two stickers on the back windshield. The seats of the car are a light cream and the dashboard has light brown swirls on it. The two stickers on the back of my car are two of my favorite things about the car. One of the stickers is of Bigfoot and the other of the state I grew up in, Michigan. This car brings back memories of me sitting in the backseat as a kid. It’s crazy now that I get to drive it.

 There is a person who is connected to this car and car keys. This person is the kind of person that tries to help out her friends when they need help. This person helps out her parents when they need help. This person helps her siblings when they have questions. This person helps. This person is me.

Lots of people love their cars and everything about it. I am one of those people. I just love how I can take myself to school and drive myself to work. It feels nice not to always be reliant on someone else to drive me places. It’s also so nice that I can hang out with my friends and we can go places like the mall or the movie theater. It makes hanging out with friends more fun. Getting the keys to my car has changed my life in an amazing way. Having these car keys and my car are now a huge part of my life.