Raindrop racing

I come from a family that, except for rare one-off occasions, refuses to fly.

Whether the destination is across the street or across the country, the default answer is to commute via car. This has always been something I’ve felt partial to, half because I don't know any difference and half because when I do get on airplanes I cannot relax for the life of me.

I spent a little bit of time abroad last year. Though the flights were long, I did not get one wink of sleep. Someone once mentioned to me that it’s a Midwestern thing to drive everywhere and anywhere, and while that may be true, road trips are an extremely integral part of American culture and are beyond valuable despite the mundanity.

My favorite movie of all time is “La La Land.” The opening scene takes place on a Los Angeles highway packed with cars in bumper to bumper traffic. As the camera pans from left to right we are shown different people inside their vehicles, each doing something completely different. They are all listening to various songs, radio talk shows, conversing with people on the phone or with the person riding shotgun. When I think about road trips, or just driving in general, I am reminded of this movie and how it perfectly encapsulates the reality that everyone on Earth is living in their own little world experiencing life, separately, but together all at once.

In my opinion, I find driving to be one of, if not the best way for people to connect with each other, no matter if they are your best friend or a total stranger. For instance, my friends and I took an Uber to the Chicago Blackhawks game a few months ago and wound up in a 30 minute conversation with the driver. Despite knowing for a fact that we will never see him ever again, we were able to find common ground and chat.

I also think road trips provide the opportunity to lean into boredom. I get motion sickness and can’t spend all those hours reading a book or doing something productive. Simply looking at billboards, counting how many state license plates you see, or watching raindrops race down the window is my preferred way of passing the time.

Road trip culture is a shared American experience: wondering about the life of the car in front of you whose back window is covered in stickers from different states and life events, taking a long nap only to wake up to one of your siblings asleep in your lap, finding a random hole-in-the-wall restaurant that claims to have really good burgers and fries and sounds like the perfect pick-me-up to get through the rest of the drive, stopping at at random gas stations where you end up getting stuck in the single stall bathroom and need the manager to knock the door down (definitely not talking about a personal experience). 

Matthew McConaughey once said “I love road trips. I think I’ve learned more on road trips than I’ve learned just about anywhere else in life. It's like a classroom.”

I fully agree with this. It is a place to really take a long deep breath and force yourself to be present for a duration of time. As I have come to the age where I need to renew my license for the first time, the meaning of simple activities such as driving have grown to become more and more personal.

Have a great time on spring break, no matter where you go or however you choose to travel. Take a look out the window and enjoy what you get to do right now.