TI Podcast: Part 2

The speaker shares a personal story about learning to drive with their mom and how their ambition to complete their driving hours affected their relationship. They realized that they were treating their mom poorly and not listening to her advice. When they shifted their focus to becoming a better driver and listening to their mom, they were able to enjoy driving with her and strengthen their bond. The speaker relates their experience to the character Walter in A Raisin in the Sun, who also prioritized his own ambitions over his family's happiness. The speaker concludes that ambition can be a double-edged sword and it's important to not let it affect how we treat our loved ones. You might have a mom, she might be the bomb, but ain't nobody got a mom like her. Hello and welcome back to part 2 of Tita's Tubular Talks. In this part of today's episode, I'm going to be sharing a personal story that relates to the theme in Lorraine Hansrae's A Raisin in the Sun to my personal life, including, you guessed it, my mom. Let's get into it. So, I'm 16 years old. We all know what happens at this age. Two words. Driver's license. But before getting my license, I needed to complete 16 hours with a learner's permit. I needed to drive with a license fill and a passenger seat to do this. So, I turned to my mom. A few months ago, right after getting my permit, I was really determined to just knock these hours out of the way so I could get my license already. I thought to myself, how hard can driving really be? Turns out, not as easy as I thought. That day, my mom decided I would just start by driving in my neighborhood. But that was not enough for me. I had my mind set on one thing and one thing only. I was going to drive for two hours. That was the goal. Although, I didn't realize how being ambitious about getting my hours done as soon as possible would affect how I treated my mom. I need to get on the real road. I need to get two hours done today, I told her. It's your first time driving. You're not ready, she said back to me. A little offended, I begged my mom until she said yes. Now, the mission was to make it to the shopping center only about five minutes away from my house. So there I was, behind the wheel, driving at about 40 miles per hour, everything going just fine. Well, at least to me. My mom was panicking. Stop braking so abruptly! Brake sooner! Or, slow down! Switch lanes! I know, mom, you don't need to keep correcting me, I would defensively yell back, taking her advice as criticism. I think I spoke too soon. As I entered the parking lot of the shopping center, all I could think about was how there were so many cars. Get to the right, you're in the middle of the lane, my mom told me. And this is when I really started to panic. Mom, stop yelling at me, it's not helping. I felt stressed, but I couldn't let my mom know that. I had to get to two hours and act like everything was fine. To make matters worse, a black BMW came out of nowhere, speeding in front of me and was not going to stop. My mom yelled out, brake! And so I hit the brakes. I know, mom, you don't have to keep telling me, was the response of my choice. I told you that you were not ready to leave the neighborhood, why don't you listen to me? My mom said to me. And this is when I really began to feel bad. I didn't listen to her. I wasn't treating my mom nicely at all when she was just trying to help me. I pulled into a parking lot, safely, somehow, and my mom and I just sat there in silence. I was like, oh my god, this car in front of us is about to hit us and Tita is not stopping soon enough. And then I just kept thinking, it's okay, she's just excited, she needs to learn how to be a good driver first and then get her hours done. It's a process, it takes time. And she was absolutely right. Being so focused on getting my hours done with my permit as soon as possible just so I could get my license caused me to ignore my mom's suggestions on how to be a better driver because I was so focused on reaching my two-hour goal of the day. In fact, I was so consumed on my ambition to drive for as long as possible that I snapped at my mom when she gave me advice, making driving uncomfortable for the both of us. Although, when I shifted my ambition and focused on learning to become a good driver by listening to my mom instead of just trying to get my hours done, I not only began taking my mom's advice instead of being stubborn, but I was able to enjoy driving with her. Now, driving with her has become an experience that brings us closer together as we spend so much time together in the car. That is so very true. I do love driving with you. Similar to my situation, Walter treated his family members unfairly and disregarded their opinions on what to do with the insurance money when his initial dream was to open the liquor store. I disregarded my mom's opinion on my driving, focused on my own goal. When Walter adjusted his ambitions to consider the feelings and desires of his family members, he was able to look past prioritizing his own personal interests and moved into a house that made his whole family happy. And now, I consider my mom's advice and am able to grow close to her through such a small thing, driving with her. Both my situation with my mom as well as Walter's shows how ambition is a double-edged sword. It may be simple to let our goals get in the way of how we treat others and may not even notice it at first. Trust me, I understand. Although, it's important to keep our connections with our loved ones as ambitions are temporary and passion can clearly drive us to be selfish sometimes. I promise that making sure your personal aspirations don't get in the way of how you treat those you love is worth it. Right, mom? I couldn't have said it better myself.