Summer Without A Car: Personal Narrative

Narrative I spent the summer before my senior year of high school in the worst way a teenager could imagine: without a car. It was not because I could not afford a car; I owned a truck at the time I obtained my driver’s license. I spent my summer without a vehicle because of an unpredictable, unfair event. I was unhappy at the time, but looking back, I realized that I learned a valuable lesson through the ordeal: life is not always fair. We cannot control what happens to us in this world, but we have a choice to either focus on the bad parts of the situation, or search for the good outcome.
The eve of summer vacation was unexceptional. I spent the day the way I would any other Thursday; I had a class early in the afternoon, spent time with my classmates afterwards, and eventually said goodbye for the last time. It was bittersweet as I walked out the door and crossed the parking lot to my truck, my younger sister trailing behind. The door groaned as I pulled it open, tossing my enormous backpack carelessly into the tiny space behind the driver’s seat with a heavy thud.

I had to find rides with my neighbors every day to Taekwondo class, ride with my mom to take my ACT test, and have my friends’ parents pick me up to hang out. Through all of this, though, I learned that life is not always fair. Bad things happen to good people. Unfair things happen even when we do everything right. Unfair things will always happen in the world, but it is up to us whether we choose to wallow in the negative or look for the positive outcomes. Because I was trapped at home all summer, I missed spending time with my friends. However, I had the opportunity to spend quality time with my sister, which I would not have had otherwise. Because a bad thing happened, our relationship grew stronger. Because life is not fair, we receive many positive opportunities that we would not have