Monday, May 5, 2014

To Honk Or Not To Honk?


First, let me just say I hate to drive… when there are people in my car. Why? Because I’m still on probation and mature drivers have a tendency to judge probationary drivers whether silently or verbally. Hence, I hate to drive with passengers… cause I know they are judging me. Admit it, you judge P drivers too. Heck, I judge my bro who is a P driver like me. Haha!



Anyway, that is not the topic of this post. This post is about honking! Yes, honking, the thing a lot of people enjoy doing. But before I begin, let me just say that this is all my personal opinion. I’m not saying I’m right and you’re wrong, this is simply PERSONAL. Please keep that in mind before you read on :)

So... as a driver, I don’t honk unnecessarily. I honk only to alert someone of danger and to kindly notify a distracted driver. I don’t honk because I’m angry at how someone cut in my lane or honk to embarrass another driver for making a silly mistake. I don’t really see the point of doing that.

For example, last Saturday I was driving my friends back from a late night dinner. On the way back, a car shot out from a vertical lane crossing mine. I had to slow down tremendously to avoid a collision. When that happened, the people in my car erupted with a, “Honk him!” At the sound of the unison, I did not honk. Why? Because I didn’t see the point. The danger was far from over and honking him then would simply be an act of anger or to let everyone else know that that driver made a mistake. I SHOULD have honked while pressing on my breaks, but there was no point in honking after it. Anyway, my car still sounded a honk because my friend reached over and pressed it.

To some, you might think I’m a docile driver who is too timid to blare the honk. For me, not honking and forgiving someone puts me at peace. I was not angry, I was not annoyed, I was relaxed. Honking might have changed my mood and made me more hostile afterwards, so I’m glad I did not do it.

I think the reason why I can be calm on days like those is because my prayer works. Every time I enter the car I say a simple prayer of asking God to teach me to be a better driver in skill and character. Though I’m not the kind hearted and patient driver every single day, but the prayer helps on situations like last Saturday. I am not the best driver out there, but at least I know God is teaching me to be one… especially in character.

So, if you wonder why I don’t honk, this is the reason. It so happens my mother and I think the same way, and my father and brother think the opposite. I guess we all have our own reasons of honking. Mine is just the uncommon one.