Adam's Rant

In British Columbia strict regulations for teenagers seeking driver licences have been put in place in efforts to make our roads safer and to save lives. It is called the Graduated license program and it takes 3 to complete and requires you can't get a single ticket or you are forced to restart. This seemingly well thought out and perfected plan is one that actually contains countless flaws. Firstly it is a 3 year program in which you are tested a total of 3 times, which is essentially once a year. However after you have acquired your full licence you aren't required to be tested for the rest of your life. This seems appalling to myself because by watching my parents and other adults around me drive, that dangerous habits develop and if they where re-tested around age 30 many people would fail. Another flaw is the length of the plan. You are eligible to take the test when you are 16 and if you make it through perfectly which is unlikely you still don't have a full driving license till your 19. This poses many problem such as you can't acquire many jobs because they require a full license. Also it isn't economical for the reason that we are unable to car pool to school or to work inevitably increasing our carbon foot print. Cost is also a huge factor in getting your licence and often feels like a cash grab. The tests are made so they are easy to fail and many people do, which would be fine if it didn't cost you $50 each attempt. But it doesn't stop there. If or when you finally pass you are expected to pay another $30-$40 to get your picture taken and put on a wallet sized piece of plastic. There are many horror story's that have come out of these strict regulations as well. One very unfortunate one was a young man 20 years old had not found the time to go for his full licence and was one day pulled over and ended up being breathalysed. Even though he was of age and only blew .01% he lost his licence due to the zero tolerance policy. As a result he gets his licence suspended for 6 months, must restart his 3 year program, pay a very large fine and pay and install a breathalyser ignition starter, which costs $2000. Since he is was just starting a realtor for a job, he will be out of work for 6 months and even when he's back it won't look very good to breathalyse yourself when your driving clients around. Finally what is really messed up about this system is the people who make these regulations are more than likely +55 years old people who got there licence in a 2 week span and complain about young peoples bad driving and thought they should fix it. Maybe its time for them to look at there own driving ability's for a change.

A Road Less Travelled

In my life I have seen the value of having passion for a job and how much it increases the your quality of life if you have a love for what you do. A job takes up such a substantial part of your life that if every morning your wake up dreading going to your job it makes being motivated for each day very tough. My Dad is someone who lacks a passion for his job and although he never complains about it, he has said many times that if he could do it all again he would not have taken the same path. His day to day life includes many sports and activity's to compensate for having a job he's not passionate about and the activities become his motivation for each day. But when a job takes such a significant amount of time out of your day it's a hard void to fill and he always seems very joyous towards the thought of retiring. As far a my career I want to pursue in my life I have been torn between 2 choices. I have had a passion for skiing my whole life as well as a passion for for the outdoors and this made me wanted to become a ski guide. When I investigated it further however I found job availability to be a major issue and no matter how many courses you take towards it, the chance of you getting a job is based on your connections. It is also very expensive to become certified and with the slim chance of getting a job right away the last thing I wanted was to end up living in my parents basement. For those reasons I decided to go with a job that's more secure, this being a mechanical engineer. From a very early age I was always taking things apart and I would always take thing apart to see what was inside and how it all worked. Still having this passion today I believe I will be satisfied with my career choice for years to come. It is also very expensive and is 4 years of university but the reward is most often getting a job straight away. Another advantage is it pay better than a ski instructor but this is at the cost of the adventure aspect. I have come to realize it is also a lot of work to get your diploma from watching my brother but I believe I want it bad enough to and put the effort in I will succeed.