Keep Your Car in Drive by Hannah

Keep Your Car in Drive by Hannah - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

Life is a journey. That is what everyone will say. Life is a beautiful, fun, exciting, hurtful, long, journey with windy roads and uphill climbs. Some days you will be able to throw yourself in neutral and cruise, and then with no warning at all, you'll be climbing that mountain without being able to get any higher than second gear. There will undoubtedly be rough terrain up ahead, and there will also be roads so flat you can see for miles. Regardless of what is to come, the most important thing to remember is to keep your car in drive.
If I could change one thing I would tell myself that reverse gets you nowhere. Life is a journey into the future. The clock will never rewind, and you will never have a redo. My advice? Make that first impression count. Take the opportunity to be a poor college student who adventures anyway. Eat Ramen now because you’ll have plenty of healthy meals later. Tell that professor how much you enjoyed their lesson. Most importantly, don't forget that today is here so take advantage of it. It is so easy to get bogged down by the class that was so difficult that it killed your GPA. You have plenty of opportunities ahead still. Don't look back. There’s a nauseating feeling you'll get when you find out it will take you five years to graduate rather than four. Keep moving forward, you'll be so grateful for that extra year when it comes. There will come a time when your dream of studying in an unknown country and an unknown language will come true. Don't get homesick. Hug your host family and help make dinner. In a month you'll miss them so much it hurts.
Although I don't know your story, your struggles, your pains, and your joys, I do know that road ahead is infinitely more promising that the road behind. Keep your car in drive. Reverse has nothing to offer you but already lived, unchangeable stories. When then day is done be grateful for the opportunities and struggles provided by that dreadful Monday, sleep it off, and enjoy Tuesday.