I had never seen such beautiful stars. There was little to no
There was little to no light pollution, and the skies were as clear as could be. The air was just still enough to be peaceful, but not eerie. We were stopped for gas, when I saw the stars. It was just me outside, and it was wonderful.
As still as this moment was, the trip did not start out as peaceful.
A group of my friends and I were at a basketball game, when one of them brought up how impulsive I had been lately. Instead of taking the comment sitting down, I thought to challenge it. “Let’s go to Kansas!” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted it. What was I thinking? Then I realized, the better question was not “what was I thinking?”, but “why had I not thought about it before?”
My friends laughed, but soon resolve set within me. At that moment, I needed to leave Shawnee more than I needed anything else. After a significant amount of banter, we decided to take the trip. Ten minutes later, we were off. It was 9 p.m. and we were headed to Kansas City, Kansas.
The drive started off fairly normal. We gassed up, grabbed something to eat at McDonald’s and hit the road. About two hours in, I realized this was going to be a long drive. At first we were talkative and rambunctious, but soon the drive turned as still as the darkness around us. I never expected to see such beautiful stars while simply trying to gas up the car. I checked the map and we were a little under an hour away. The excitement of making it to Kansas set in.
Almost as soon as we were back on the road, I saw flashing red and blue lights behind me. I was being pulled over. The beginning of the trip clashed with this moment like the ocean against a beach: hard and shockingly swift. I handed the cop my license and insurance when he asked, “Did you know your insurance is expired?”
“No,” I said. Dang it. It was 2 a.m. I was definitely speeding and I thought I was totally toast. My mind began to race with too many questions too fast. What if I get a ticket? Will I have to go to court in Kansas? Should I call my parents? When my mental spiral was hitting a high, the cop came back.
“I’ll give you a warning. Drive safe,” he said. I was shocked. He didn’t give me a ticket! We were all wide awake for the last leg of the drive. My friends and I finally made it to Kansas, and we were more than happy to be there. That trip ended up being one of my favorite memories from Freshman year. It was so chaotic and full of fun. I keep that memory close to me reminding me that spontaneity is a beautiful and invigorating part of life. It is something I want to keep with me as long as I can. Life can fly by, and I don’t want to watch it go by. I want to live it.