Apologize if this kind of post isn't allowed here, but just wanted to get this off my chest.Right now, I'm in my final semester at USC. And I feel like I'm drowning in work, and never get the chance to catch my breath. There's always an assignment to do, a project to work on, a test to study for. I have no time to work on myself, and don't have time to pursue the hobbies I love.And I resent it. I resent that I've have to give up so much of my time to do work for my classes that won't even matter in the long run. I resent that I have no energy and time to cultivate meaningful relationships here. I resent that I have no time to explore the city, and experience everything LA has to offer outside of university park. Most days I feel like I'm just hanging on by a thread.And that thread is my bike. I first started riding when I hopped on an electric scooter in Santa Monica (one of those Birds), and I remember that sense of freedom as I carved along the curves of the bike path to Venice. That sense of freedom, of openness. And that tiny scooter made me want more.So i signed up for the MSF. My first day, I stalled my bike ~50 times. Everyone else didn't have the same issue. I didn't know where I was going wrong. When I went home that day, I buried my head in my hands. I felt like crying. I felt like I wasn't made for this. But I had already paid for the course. I wasn't going to give up. So I called up one of my friends who had been riding for 10 years, and he walked me through some of my potential issues. The next day, I walked in, and only stalled 3 times (due to fatigue), and passed the test.Fast forward to today; I'm the proud owner of a Honda Rebel 500, and put ~1200 miles on her so far. School doesn't leave me a lot of opportunities to leave the neighborhood, but when I'm feeling really down, I'll take the bike out and zip around school for around 10 minutes or so. And the sense of freedom I get when I'm on the bike is unparalleled. There is just something about being on two wheels that you cannot get from a car. The feeling of an engine when it jumps to life; it rumbles and pulsates and flows throughout your body. The feeling of the wind against your face, against your torso; it's almost like a silk blanket. And the thrill. Holy shit. When I open up the throttle and everything starts to blur, it reminds me of Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon, jumping into hyperspace, and you can see the stars start to blur around the ship. When I'm riding, everything just fades away; my worries, my concerns, my anger. There is no past. There is no future. Only the present.And I know it's not a perfect solution, but riding is the one thing that gets me through the day. That's preventing me from fully throwing in the towel. "This isn't forever," I tell myself. One day, I'll be free from this shithole, and I can get back to building my life. So despite how hard things are right now, I'm still grateful that I have this outlet. Because it's the one thing that keeping me from throwing in the towel.Anyways, I just wanted to share the story of how I got into riding, and vent my frustrations at the absolute uselessness of the American educational system. To those of you still struggling to learn to ride, please keep at it. I promise it's worth it.Thank you for reading :) via /r/motorcycles https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/decn7g/school_is_suffocating_me_riding_is_the_one_thing/?utm_source=ifttt
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