Sunset on I-15 |
This track, about four lanes wide with cars and semi-trucks and motorcyclists all sharing the same roadway, is where flat tires are born, as vehicles navigate the gaping pot-holes – those deep, dark, and endless potholes.
Fiery anger, from endless drivers, leads to curse words combined with inappropriate gestures and usher even the best of saints down a slow and slippery slope.
To drive the twenty-mile stretch requires immense concentration as looking down for a split-second runs the risk of driving into the meandering median. The devil himself must have been the chief architect of this unbearable road; be wary. Rising office buildings checker the developing acreage as drivers mindlessly commute on the uneven asphalt. The eroding passage takes a beating from the joyous variety of Utah’s weather. Snow and rain, hot sun and frozen water stretch and compress the highway. The road needs love and so do I.
The End of the Road
I was dating this wonderful girl and our relationship was progressing quickly. She was blonde, she was blue-eyed, and she was perfect. Or at least perfect in my eyes. As our juvenile relationship progressed to a mature relationship, I seriously began to wonder if she was the right girl for me. Time was devoted to her. Money was spent on her. My heart was invested in her. A weekend ski trip was planned and it was time for her to meet my family. After a long week of class, the time had come.
Alone in the Snow |
The person with whom you have devoted time, feelings, resources, surprises, kisses, dreams, and a multitude of other things is no longer part of your life. The person who knows what makes you laugh, cry, irritates you, frustrates you, frightens you, and does a million other things to you is no longer the first person you're calling with exciting news or the last person you're talking to before you go to sleep. It is supposed to kill you but it doesn’t. We had two classes together so I still saw her four times a week. Each and every time I saw her, memories from the past flooded in and my heart would somehow break again. Yet, I did not miss a single class.
The End of Another Road?
The following week, I had a chemistry test. Chemistry was my favorite subject although I wasn’t any good at it. I had enjoyed preparing for my test over the weekend and I felt ready for it. The test came and went. As I eagerly anticipated receiving my score back, I prepared myself for the worst. “60%? No, that’s too low. Maybe 72% at the lowest? Yeah. That sounds like a good number.” As sweaty palms reached out to get my test, I took a deep breath and looked at the score.
Failed Chemistry Test |
It was this day that a slow realization came to me: I was not meant to be a doctor. I was struggling trying to discover the career path that was meant for me and praying earnestly to God that he would help me find the right path. I did not love BYU, but I loved helping others, I loved learning, and I loved the thought of having a doctor-patient relationship. It wasn’t until a year later that I realized—my career path is through law school, not medical school. This sudden stroke of intelligence landed on me while I was sitting in the Marriot Center at BYU listening to a forum. The event started and the title of his speech appeared on the jumbotron. It was a speech about honesty. As I listened intently, he told a story about Jon Hunstman – an American businessman and philanthropist.
The story was one of rags to riches. He grew up in Idaho; he was poor as his father was a school teacher. Jon got a scholarship at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he struggled his first two years, not taking his education seriously. When his father suggested he attend a school with an easier curriculum, he realized he was squandering the opportunity he had been given. He spent the next two years seriously studying and significantly surpassing his former performance. He graduated from Wharton with honors.
After the speech, I was awestruck as that story touched my heart. It was completely unnecessary for him to even include that part in his talk, but I felt he did just for me. I took it as an answer that I must stay at Brigham Young University. Fast forward a few weeks, I ended up withdrawing from my chemistry classes and changed my career choice to law from medicine. Things got better again after making that decision. It was a blind step forward. What would the outcome be? I didn't know, nor did I have any idea. I tried so hard not to believe it. Would my dad disown me? Still today, I am so unsure of so many things. But I do at least know one truth: that I am not meant to be a doctor of medicine, rather a doctor of law.
Stanford Commencement Speech, June 2005 |
The Drive Home
I have spent quite a lot of time driving on the black and hardened tar that leads from Provo to Salt Lake. Avoiding the storm drains on the far left is an absolute must. Driving past 10pm is not the best idea as construction crews are laboring diligently throughout the night to try and repair it. Driving in the middle lane at any time of day is always a bad idea. I don’t quite understand, but drivers tend to conglomerate in the middle lane during rush hour; so, the far right is generally the faster route home.
There is this construction zone beginning around Pleasant Grove that extends through Lehi. This is crucial to watch out for as the speed limit switches from 70mph to 60mph, but this is well warranted as drivers would crash into each other or the median as the road slithers and snakes through Utah County. Yes, I have cursed and prayed and laughed and cried while commuting daily. I have taken the wrong exit and cut off countless drivers – not on purpose of course. I have been pulled over – a few times – and had a flat tire on it. Still, I drive it almost daily. It will always be there; even through the blizzards and the scorching heat.
Image Credits: "California Sunset" by Ace Reston is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, Alone in the Snow [Public Domain Image via WallPaperFlare], Failed Chemistry Test [Public Domain via CollegeExperience], Stanford Commencement Speech, June 2005 [Public Domain Image via PBS]
Tyler, I think you added some great details from the last time that I read your essay! I like the details and specificity that you give when describing I-15 and also describing your trip with your ex-girlfriend. I thought that there was a lot of great emotion, too. I have two pieces of advice: first, instead of having your first picture be one of a random road, why not try to find one of I-15 itself? It would be more specific and more interesting as an opener. My second piece of advice is about transitions and theme. There are two places that seem to have a jarring change in topic/scene: the first is when you start talking about your girlfriend (maybe you could write another sentence or two in the previous paragraph to tie in how your relationship was similar to traveling on the road?), and the second is when you transition at the end from talking about your choice to be a lawyer back to talking about I-15. In both cases, I think that if you carried on the metaphor of your career/relationships being like I-15 (which you could do with metaphors, similes, etc.) throughout the entire piece rather than at the end, then the transitions would be better. Great job on this!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great Tyler!
ReplyDeleteI like the quote from Steve Jobs, but I think you could try to incorporate the quote in a way that seems more natural to your piece so it complements what you are saying. A way you could do this is by beginning your next paragraph with something about how the median of a road are a bunch of connected dots/lines that lead to something—just a thought.
I agree with Tanner above ^
Great content! I really enjoyed reading your post