Driven To Distraction

Abstract

This compilation of personal essays is centered on the topic of driving. Many of my stories do not take place in ordinary tourist locations. However, my emphasis in each essay is to highlight details of the traveling experience, regardless of the destination. I chose to structure my thesis as a series of essays because each story has its own particular focus. Together, the subjects of each story interlock as pieces in a jigsaw puzzle to form a unified and overarching theme of appearance vs. reality. Often the appearance, or how we envision the trip, is romanticized, whereas the reality is less than ideal. During some of these trips I am in the driver's seat; in others, I am a helpless and hapless passenger. In this thesis I make light of the stressful situations people encounter while traveling. Despite the amount of time spent planning, people are unable to completely avoid problems, travel-related or otherwise. We can be spontaneous and half-cocked, and things will go wrong; we can be responsible and attentive, and things will still go wrong. The issue is not what will go wrong, but rather, how we deal with the problems and continue on our journey.

Date of Award	2008
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Daiva Markelis (Supervisor)