As a truck driver’s daughter, you get a better perspective on life. You learn to never take things for granted. My dad has been driving big rigs for quite some time now, for 25 years to be exact. Every day he gets up before sunrise to embark on journeys of various lengths, usually to Virginia but sometimes as far away as Indiana. The short trips are always nice because he isn’t away from home for long. When he’s on longer trips I remind myself, “It’s for a good cause.” If it weren’t for truck drivers, we wouldn’t have the food we get on our plates every night because stores wouldn’t be stocked.

I admire my dad’s dedication and the stories he shares about the open road. I love the feeling of freedom when we travel together. I try to join him on the road often, which is typically during school breaks. I sit in the passenger seat and watch the world go by. I gaze out of the window mesmerized by the changing scenery. From hills to towering mountains, cities to quiet countryside, I get to experience it all.

I catch myself wondering about people as we pass them. What are their lives like? Where do they live? What are their stories?

You get to see many new things, including things you see when you’re home but from a different perspective.

Being in the truck is a very soothing experience – it literally puts me to sleep! There have been times that I curled up and fell asleep. I’ve always been the type of person to fall asleep in a car but falling asleep in a big rig is different.

I have been riding in the truck with my dad for a while. He has had multiple trucks but there is one specific truck that holds a special place in my heart. When I first started riding in this truck, the bed was very uncomfortable. Then one day we stopped and while waiting for the container to be unloaded, I decided to hop up on one of the shelves above the bed. I was younger then, so I was small and fit very comfortably. Around this time I rode in the truck often, we would be riding down the road talking about random things. We felt if we talked it would make time go faster. We would sing along to our favorite songs, play games, and share stories that would either make us laugh or cry. We would talk about old memories and life itself. We used that time to bond and I will forever be grateful.

As I grew older I realized that being a truck driver’s daughter shaped me into the person I am today. It taught me to appreciate the simple joys in life, to value family bonds, and to embrace new experiences and be grateful for what you have because not everybody gets what you may get. Never take what you have for granted.