My love of the open road

My mother hates road trips. Ask her about them and she will be delighted to tell you about how tiring it is to drive for such long amounts of time (particularly through places like Iowa, where the scenery seems unchanging and the road could easily continue until the ). end of time

She will explain to you in full detail the boredom and irritability that accompanies her on these long drives. She will try her hardest to make you understand that no matter what her teenage daughter may say, there is nothing particularly thrilling or fascinating about road trips.

The teenage daughter to whom she is referring is, of course, me. It seems strange that my mother, with her dislike for road trips, could have raised a daughter with a fond enthusiasm for them, but raise one she did. I simply cannot get enough of traveling, and a car containing only the necessities and perhaps a few friends is my favorite mode of transportation. What kind of teenager doesn't love road trips?

If you just mentally answered that with "I'm a teenager and I don't love them," or if you happen to be my mother, then you've lucked out. Ive made a list, just for you, of reasons you should love road trips as much as I do.

• Music. There is no better time to listen to your entire CD collection (or your cassette collection, if you or your car are old fashioned) than a road trip. Being in a car with nothing to do except drive gives you a chance to really think about the music being played, to let the meaning and the melody of every song really soak in. Take advantage of the situation.

• Friendship. Whether your traveling companions are friends youve known since you were in diapers or people youve only recently become good friends with, this is the perfect time to bond with them. At the end of your road trip, you will emerge from the car feeling closer to them than anyone else in the world. But be careful not to start a fight, because few things are worse than being trapped in the car with someone you wish you could slap. Ask any older sibling.

• Quiet time. If youre taking your trip alone, or if you get stuck driving while everyone else sleeps, you can use your time on the road to relax a little and reflect on anything that may be happening in your life. If nothing seems to require much contemplation, then do your best to use the time thoughtfully. Perhaps you can do some soul-searching and discover who you are. Whatever you decide to do, dont forget to keep your eye on the road.

• Sleep. Whats better than sleeping uncomfortably with your face smashed against the glass of a backseat window and nowhere to put your legs? Absolutely nothing. Sleeping simply because there is nothing else to do can sometimes be enjoyable. The chances of having an amusing dream are high, and waking up far from where you fell asleep (maybe even in a different state) is a cool experience.

• I can't do justice to my last reason in only one word, even if I wrote several books on the subject. It's something you just have to experience for yourself (and something you wont experience if all you can think about is how uncomfortable the seats in your car are or how boring all that driving is.)

All I can really say is that there is some sort of magic on the open road. Something enchanting and possibly even life-changing is waiting for you out there, along highways that seem endless and scenery unchanging.

No matter what my mother may try to tell you, there is something thrilling about road trips. Today I leave to Salt Lake City to visit Westminster College with two good friends and make no mistake were driving the entire way.

Jazzmine Freedom , a Robertson High School senior, is an intern with the Las Vegas Optic.