Chapter 1- Learning How To Drive
Saturday, March 8
11:30AM This morning I went to Greensburg to get my permit. The line was extremely long and took me over an hour to get through. You could watch others taking their test on the computers. It wasn't good. Everyone was failing. I got more and more nervous as I went through the line. At last, it was my turn to give it a try. I went into panic after I missed the very first question. Am I going to make it through the other 17 questions? Well, I did without another missed question. I got my permit papers and was on my way.
6:00PM My parents were brave enough to take me out to drive tonight. My dad was telling me to do one thing from the passenger seat and my mom was telling me to do something else from the back seat. It was rather confusing. Luckily I made it through my first lesson without hitting anything- or anyone.

Sunday, March 9
5:00PM I had my second lesson before I went to my youth group meeting. Today I was actually able to make it out of the parking lot and I went around the school. Unfortunately, the band director was walking across the road to the school and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him. I think I'll be in hiding Monday morning.

Tuesday, March 11
6:00PM This time I messed up before I even got behind the wheel. I forgot my permit. I remembered that it was laying on the table at home (under a nice messy pile) when we were almost at the school. Well, I was driving fine until I stopped at a stop sign. Then some idiot passed me when I was turning. I guess stop signs are optional.

Saturday, March 15
12:00PM After I took the SAT's my parents were brave enough to let me drive to the gas station. I had to go down a hill with curves and instead I ran into the curb. I was laughing all the way down the hill and was making my family rather nervous. Then I had to get onto Route 30. I forgot to turn on my turn signal, but I made it without killing anyone. I had to stop for a light and I almost ran into the person in front of me. My parents were screaming "BRAKE!!!" I still have to learn how to use that brake thing. I pulled into the gas station, and forgot which side of the car the gas thingy was on. Well, I just pulled into the easiest place- and got it on the wrong side. Maybe I'll get it right next time.

Wednesday, March 19
7:00PM My dad finally let me drive again after the Route 30 incident, and even when it was getting dark. This time I just drove to the firehall. I am pleased to announce that I'm finally getting used to stopping. My sister didn't hit her head off the window like the last time. I even got to park, but it wasn't that great. My sister's boyfriend, Shawn, was laughing at my parking job. I didn't think it was that bad.

Wednesday, March 26
2:15PM Our spring break starts today, and I finally got to go out driving again. This time, I got to drive our car (I've been driving a mini-van.) It has much more power than our van; I didn't have to floor the pedal to go. I drove around some little country roads, and I had to turn around in someone's driveway to avoid driving on a busy street. Well, I never backed up before, so I just guessed which way to turn the wheel- too bad I guessed the wrong way. I tried to fix it and ended up backing straight out and stopped at the edge of the narrow street. I tried to turn the wheel and drive straight out, but I forgot that I was in reverse and ended up in a ditch. Luckily, I had front wheel drive and was able to drive out of it easily. I went to our church's parking lot and practiced backing up (I also scared our preacher.) I'm a little better at the reverse thing now.

Saturday, March 29
4:30PM I just got my actual permit in the mail so my parents feel a little safer taking me driving, now that I'm insured. I did some more driving on our old van. I was driving on a narrow road and there was a car stopped on the other side of the road. I tried to go around it and I came close to knocking off the mirror on a telephone poll. At one point my foot slipped and I had to look down to see which pedal my foot was on. I ended up driving off the road. Fortunately, there was a parking lot at the side of the road, so no damage was done.

Sunday, March 30
1:30PM My family drove up to Johnstown to visit my grandma and my aunt. When we were almost there, my dad let me drive the Jellybean (our new mini-van that's in a shape of a jellybean.) Like the car, it has a lot more power than the van I've been driving. I tried to turn a corner, but I forgot about those brake things and it made a pleasant screeching sound. On the bright side, I made it there OK.

Sunday, April 6
12:30PM Sorry that I haven't been updating my adventures as often. I've been really busy lately and, quite honestly, my driving has become less adventurous. Last week, my mom let me drive the car again. I did better than last time, but every time I put on the turn signal, I ended up turning on the windshield wipers. Yesterday, I drove my parents (now I'm driving them around!) to Ames and I got the very first parking space. I was very proud of my parking job. I'm getting better at it now. Today, I drove the van to and from church. As I was getting in the car when we were leaving, everyone that was left rushed to their cars to get out before I did. So many people have so little faith.

Tuesday, April 8
4:30PM Today marks my one-month anniversary of my permit. I've come a long way, but I still have a long way to go. Today I was driving home from the post office in the car. Again, I forgot how much power the thing has compared to the van. I was at a stop sign and forgot to go, so I stepped on the gas and made a nice screeching noise. Well, on the good side, I made it home all right.

Thursday, April 10
9:00PM Tonight my dad let me drive in the dark! He never let me drive when it was this dark before and I was quite surprised when he let me. It went pretty well, except I almost ran into one of those annoying signs. No big deal- I swerved away from it in time.

Sunday, April 13
9:00PM I drove home from Giant Eagle today. It's the first time I had to drive a car with groceries in it. We had to search our van for a while for the lost bottles of pop.
I'm starting driving lessons on Thursday. It's not just because I'm a bad driver, but my dad is too (he said it himself.) Maybe now I'll have a chance at getting my license.

Thursday, April 17
3:00PM I took my first driving lesson today. I went after school in my instructor's car and drove around for about two hours. Nothing tragic (like driving into ditches) happened, but he pointed out some things that I was doing wrong- like turning (just a minor detail.) After a few more lessons, I can go out for my license. I can't wait!

Saturday, April 19
6:00PM My parents let me make another run to Giant Eagle. On my way there, I tried to swerve out of the way of a shopping cart and almost ran into another car. My mom gave out a gasp of terror as I parked (as if I would run into a parked car or something.) Much to her amazement, I parked perfectly (in my opinion.) I got another chance at driving home with groceries and this time I did a lot better. They actually stayed in the bags this time! I guess those driving lessons are starting to pay off.

Sunday, April 20
9:30AM I drove my family to church again this Sunday. I was doing allright until it came to parking. I don't know why, but I was having an extremely bad parking day. It took me about ten tries until I managed to get in between two cars. On our way inside, my dad noticed antifreeze leaking out of the van. I went in and told my Sunday School teacher all about my bad parking day. He looked outside and said "Wow, you must have had a REALLY bad parking day. You didn't even get it in the lot!" I explained to him about the antifreeze and figured my dad must have taken it home. Now my precious van is waiting to be towed away.

Thursday, April 24
5:00PM I had my second driving lesson today. In my opinion, I did pretty bad (as in running into curbs and almost running red lights) but my instructor said I did really good (I didn't wreck.) He also said that I should do more driving, so my dad's letting me drive to Penn State on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't wreck!

Saturday, April 26
7:00AM My family went out to Penn State today and, as promised, I drove there. I only drove part of the way since it was a 2 1/2 hour ride. I drove on a turnpike for the first time. I had problems rolling up the window since we don't have power windows. The speed limit was 65 but I didn't go quite that fast the first time through. We obviously took the Jellybean since my van doesn't go that fast. My dad let me drive on the mountains on the way back. Fortuanately, I didn't drive off them.

Thursday, May 1
6:00PM Last night I drove my friend, Sue, to our band concert. I didn't go very far when I missed a stop sign. Well, I did stop, but it was in the middle of the intersection. Shawn decided to dramatize the event and flung himself over the seat in front of him (he says it was because of my erupt stop- yeah, right.) When we got to the school, Sue was telling everyone about our "wild ride." Most people were just scared by the fact that I drive.

Sunday, May 4
2:00PM I had a very adventurous journey today. First, I pumped gas all by myself. My dad told me to get 20 dollars worth, but when I hit 13, the pump stopped. I just let it go, and when I got in my dad complained that I didn't get enough gas. Then, I was driving out of the gas station, and I didn't see the road and drove in front of someone. Fortunately, I didn't run into them, but then I missed the next stop sign. I drove all the way to Monroeville without anymore mishaps, but when I got there it changed into another story. First, there was a wreck nearby and there were fire trucks and ambulances everywhere that I had to get out of the way. I had to go a back way and had no idea where I was going (meanwhile still dodging those pesky fire trucks.) I finally made my way back to the highway- and a lot of traffic. I went through a light (it was green) but the cars in front of me were stopped. The light turned red and I was sitting in the middle of the intersection. Then, at the next light the traffic was blocking my way. When the light turned green I had to zigzag through all the cars. When we finally got to the mall, I got out of the car and realized that I forgot to put the gas cap back on. I drove for about an hour with it off! I went through the drive-thru at Taco Bell on the way home. When I was turning the corner I steered too sharp and ran into the curb. My dad was brave enough to let me go home on the turnpike. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The hardest part was getting on and off. I was too far away to get the ticket and had to lean over, accidentally letting go of the brakes. On the good side, I did a lot better with the windows. I also got another chance at driving home with groceries (we stopped at Giant Eagle on the way home.) I was doing very good until some idiot drove through a stop sign (which is exactly what I did earlier) and I had to slam on the brakes. Well, I'm glad to be home again. I don't think I'll be driving in Monroeville again for a while.

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Meggie's Home