Inner City Filmmakers brought a lot of first-time experiences including my first time driving on the freeway.

The week before I was starting school, my father decided to teach me how to drive on the freeway. In general, my dad is a nervous man but teaching his youngest daughter how to drive on the freeway just skyrocketed his anxiety. Back then, I didn’t have a smartphone and my GPS sucked. He had me merge into the 405 southbound towards Santa Monica. It was around 3pm, which is traffic hour and it was the first time I was on the freeway. It was my first time sitting in traffic while being the driver. Oh boy was I in for a treat! I would spend the next two months boiling in the Summer heat in this traffic. Apparently, I didn’t do a good job because my dad told me to exit and never get on the freeway again because I’d kill myself. Instead, he showed me Sepulveda Blvd. He told me this would take me to school and back home. One of the best memories I have with my dad.

That same week, the school asked me if I could possibly carpool with a classmate from the same school. Her name was Karla. She was a year younger than me and lived within walking distance of my house. I was nervous to carpool with Karla. I didn’t know her and being stuck in a car while sitting in traffic for hours with someone I don’t know was nerve-wracking. I am so glad she needed a ride because I couldn’t ask for a better carpool partner. Karla has this huge smile, an infectious laugh, and a soft sweet voice.

I drove a 2001 BMW that was gifted to me by my brothers. You must think I was spoiled rotten huh? Guess what? The AC didn’t work and neither did the windows! HA! It was so hot in my car. Sitting in traffic in the scorching heat with no windows or AC was treacherous. So much for having a fancy car! For some reason, there was always road work on the 405, which added to the traffic on Sepulveda and on the freeway. We spent so much time in my car and we listened to the same cds over and over again.

Such great memories.

Cheers,

Frshta