I Turned Left

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CEFR Level A2-B1

I once heard someone tell a story about turning left. They said that they had gone straight hundreds of times and were never curious about what was to the left. One day, they were forced to turn left. The storyteller emphasized that they never would have turned left if road construction had not forced them. 

I remember this story as I turn left onto a road that is new to me. I do not understand how someone could drive past a road for months and never think about going down it. Today, I am turning left onto a new road simply to see where it goes. I have driven straight and I have turned right. Today, I turn left. 

I drive for several minutes through a residential street that turns into a country road. There are no roads to turn onto. After a few minutes, I start to feel anxious. I don’t want to drive for half an hour. I know I’m not lost. The road only goes straight. To get back, I only have to turn around. 

Yet, because there is no place to turn around, I feel scared. I feel trapped. I feel like I don’t know where I am. 

I see an abandoned gas station, but I am going too fast to safely slow down and turn in. I continue to drive, reminding myself that I only feel lost. The truth is, I know exactly where I am and exactly how to get back. 

I see a road to the left in time to slow down and turn into it. There are no other cars, so I make a 3-point turn and drive back the way I came. This time, I recognize landmarks and the familiar part of town appears quicker than I expected. 

When I get home, I look at an online map. I find the country road, then the road where I turned around. I trace the country road farther. After several miles, this small road connects to a larger road. I have driven on this larger road many times, but on another section. 

I went exploring today. Now I better understand how the roads in my town and the surrounding areas connect. That makes me feel confident and like I belong here.