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Teens and the Coveted Driver’s License – Or Is It? Part II

Clean Teen Reads

In Part I of Teens and the Coveted Driver’s License – Or Is It?, statistics were cited that showed large numbers of teens these days are delaying getting their driver’s licenses.

Although I can understand some of the reasons given for this delay, I personally wasn’t aware of this new trend. I mentioned in that post that it’s not evident here in the Midwest where I live. The teens that I know are all still eager to get that coveted driver’s license and gain new-found freedom.

Clean Teen ReadsLingering Dreams

This got me to thinking about the teen drivers in my teen novels. For instance, Lingering Dreams opens with a scene where the main character Kirsten Nicholson is driving the family Jeep over rutted country roads in the rain. She’s on her way to pick up the stranger who is coming to work at their Oklahoma ranch. Because Kirsten, a senior in high school, is a rancher’s daughter she’s already been driving for many years.

 

 

Oklahoma ExileClean Teen Reads

Serena Iverson in Oklahoma Exile is staying with relatives so there is no opportunity for her to get behind the wheel; however, her cousin, Amber June drives. And as with Kirsten, Amber June who lives in a farming community, began driving early in her teen years.

 

 

Clean Teen ReadsForever is Over

The main characters in Forever is Over are eighth-graders, still too young for their licenses, so there’s more bike riding in this story plot.

 

 

 

Flower in the HillsClean Teen Reads

Driving plays an important role for Latina in Flower in the Hills. Due to her having had to drive to another town earlier in the day, she’s returning to the small Ozark community of Zell’s Bush after dark. It’s just her and the little special-needs girl, Althea. It’s the point in the story when she meets head-on with the most terrifying moment of her young life. The frightening scene could not have played out had she not been able to drive. (Interesting, huh?)

Believe me, I wasn’t consciously thinking of all this when developing these different plots. However, I find it interesting how it plays out.

Clean Teen ReadsBrought To You By The Color Drab

And then there’s Race Paloma in Brought To You By The Color Drab. The occasion of obtaining his driver’s license is pretty much forced on him. It isn’t his idea at all.

Race lives in the ghetto and the only cars he ever drove were stolen. But when he and the law collide, he has the chance to rectify his situation by taking a job as a driver for a blind piano tuner.

The fact that he has to do a rush job on getting his license is an implied, and not explicit, facet of the plot. However; it plays a momentous role in the story.

The Holder of the Keys

No matter whether the driving experience is delayed (as the cited statistics prove), or begins early as with Kirsten Nicholson, it’s a fact that driving is a prevalent part of our current culture. And I believe the vast majority of teens look forward to that day when they step into adulthood—becoming the holder of the keys!

How About You?

Where are you on your journey to becoming the holder of the keys? Leave your feedback in the comment box below.

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Clean Teen Reads

 

My newest release, Brought To You By The Color Drab, is a story that has A LOT to do with a teen driver. A teen who is almost FORCED to drive!

You can read the first two chapters right here. Just click below.

Download Chapters 1 & 2 of Color Drab FREE

Just CLICK HERE!

Clean Teen Reads

Clean Teen Reads

Clean Teen Reads

Dreams, Goals, and Visions – “You Got to Have a Dream”

Clean Teen ReadsHappy Talk

There’s an old musical called South Pacific, all of the songs of which were written by the amazing team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It began as a Broadway play, then made into a movie. Back in the day, I loved all the songs from the movie soundtrack and knew all the words by heart.

One song in particular that I loved is called Happy Talk, and it puts forth this truism:

Happy talk, keep talkin’ happy talk,

Talk about things you’d like to do.

You got to have a dream,

If you don’t have a dream,

How you gonna have a dream come true?

[You can see the actual film footage of the song here!]

Through the years, that phrase has come to my mind countless times. You got to have a dream. Because if you don’t have a dream, how would you ever have a dream come true?

A Ship Without a Rudder

It makes me sad when I meet young people who don’t seem to have a dream. Or a vision. Or a goal. Instead, life just seems to bump them about like a ship on the sea without rudder or anchor.

Some people are afraid to dream. They may have a dream tucked deep inside of them, but they’ve either given up on the dream, or they’re terrified to do what it takes to chase after that dream. They’re saddled with an I can’t mentality.

Sitting On Her Dreams

Clean Teen ReadsIn my teen novel, Lingering Dreams, Kirsten Nicholson is a budding musician and songwriter. Instead of chasing her dreams, she’s just sitting on her dreams. She’s content to keep her music within the confines of her bedroom, of her own home.

But then Enrique Delaire arrives on the scene. Enrique has a way of making Kirsten look at circumstances and situations differently. His mantra is always, “You won’t know if you don’t try.” Kirsten has always been afraid to try.

Enrique’s life has not always been an easy ride, and yet the challenges he faced did nothing to dim his enthusiasm about life, nor diminish his ability to care about others. That kind of attitude can be infectious.

Find Your Cheerleader

Obviously, not everyone can have a guy like Enrique to cheer them on. In that case, we may have to become our own cheerleader.

With all the technology within a click’s reach, you have access to a wide variety of motivational speakers, teachers, and instructors. You can listen to speakers who have attained great goals in spite of great obstacles.

Or there are biographies of people who have changed the world, and again, often in the face of great odds. Find these types of books and devour them.

Let these individuals be your cheerleaders. Learn from them. Whatever it takes, be determined to push forward. Get those dreams back out and dust them off. Remember how exciting and important they are. It’s crucial that you do so. Because:

You got to have a dream, If you don’t have a dream, 

How you gonna have a dream come true?

Clean Teen Reads

You can read the first chapter of Lingering Dreams right here:

FREE Download of Chapter 1

Clean Teen Reads

Clean Teen Reads

Clean Teen Reads

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