I wasn’t ready to accept the responsibility that was given to me. I wasn’t ready to have much more freedom than I do now. I wasn’t ready to have my own car. Just kidding!

My mother has never been one to trust someone very quickly. Maybe it is mother’s intuition. Maybe she learned it at a young age while she lived on that farm. Maybe she can tell someone’s trustworthiness through her gaudy, thick glasses. Maybe it is all of her years of experience as a teacher. I don’t know. All I know is that whenever my mother trusts someone, they won’t let us down. But now, it was me that she was trusting.

I had already gathered all of the supplies I would need to get to my class, I started for the door. I got to the pale white door and opened it. I got to the step going down from the door into the squalid garage before my mother’s voice pierced the air. I turned around, breathing in the musty, dusty air in the garage, but also the fresh, clean air of the laundry room. The sunlight coming from the garage door flooded into the room and onto my back. My mother made strides towards me, knowing what she was about to do. Today was my first time driving on my own, to my first ever college class. She held out her hand and dropped them into mine with a satisfying “clink”.

My newfound freedom. A simply ford key with a small “S” carved into the side. My parent’s trust. 3 buttons on a dark black remote, with a grimy red siren button in the middle. My personal happiness. A hunter orange diamond keychain, memories rubbed off, worn to time. My new responsibilities. A scarlet red lanyard lays low from the keys, advertising my interests and loyalties in giant yellow block text. My car. My car keys. My new life.

I got in my new, pale, ocean blue Ford Expedition. The seat cradled me and made me feel welcome. The tan, slender steering wheel beckoned. I put my hands on the wheel at 10 and 2, as I was taught. The sun shone through the windows, inviting adventure. The dashboard held all types of gadgets and gizmos from cigarette lighters to a cd player. LED lights flashed across and very 80s looking screen, welcoming me to my new vehicle.

I couldn’t tell what I was feeling. Was it excitement? A little bit, but there was something more. A feeling that started in my heart, and pulsed throughout my body. A feeling that was jittering inside my body and was ready to burst out at any moment. A feeling that I could do anything, and go anywhere. Then I figured out what I was feeling. Freedom…

This is a moment I won’t soon forget. The day my parents put a lot of trust in me for the first time. This moment changed my life, more than anything else that has happened to me so far. Moments like these need to be remembered, or you lose what makes you different. So what might seem like a pretty common item, holds a lot of memories and weight to me. These keys hold meaning.