Betsy D., Knoxville, TN
I grew up on a farm where driving trucks and tractors at an early age was expected. Being the fifth of five kids, I felt the need to keep up with everything my sibs were able to do. So, I remember pretty early on (before age 10) I was steering and/or shifting the pickup truck through the fields with my dad or mom doing the rest of the driving.
By 10 I was allowed, and felt so grown up, to drive the truck on short adventures on the farm. I had to keep it in 1st gear. But the challenge of getting it moving even in 1st gear was huge and fun. I felt powerful and for some reason it gave me a place that I could let my imagination run. That doesn't sound terribly safe now that I look back!
I have always had a sense of control with stick shifts, like that is how driving is supposed to be. The automatics feel boring and disconnected from the road. Driving a stick makes me feel the way I do when I speed around on a mountain bike, or dirt bike or even a kayak. I love the (illusory??) challenge and feeling that I am somehow "one with the road".
I was told that once I had kids I would want an automatic. However, I have kids and still have a five speed. I now hope that they don't become obsolete.