life in the slow lane

Living in Los Angeles County brings with it many experiences; one of the less pleasant of which is sitting in traffic. The funny thing about Los Angeles traffic is that the only thing predictable about it is that it’s going to be bad. Some days you may actually get to drive the speed limit on the freeway, while others you will be stuck barely breaking thirty. It was on one of these more congested days, while riding the break in the far right-hand lane of the six lane highway, that I realized life is a lot like being in traffic.

There are many lanes to choose from once you get on the highway, usually increasing in speed the more you move over. The problem with changing lanes, though, is that it’s scary. Every time you want to move over, there is some huge truck barreling down on you, making you question whether or not you truly want to be in the next lane. Once you are in the faster lanes, you generally have one of two reactions. The first reaction is a feeling of exhilaration because you’re passing other people and growing more confident in your own driving ability. Sadly an equally as common reaction is the feeling of fear that comes from not being prepared to drive that fast and feeling out of control. Then of course there’s always the carpool lane, mocking you from the other side of the double white lines, reminding you that things would be so much smoother if only you were not alone. Sure, there are some good things about staying in the slow lane. You get to cross paths with all kinds of different drivers. Unfortunately, the ones of any interest usually don’t stay for very long.

So here I am, driving along in the slow lane. I’ve finally had enough and decide I need to go faster. I check my blind spot one last time, begin accelerating and put on my blinker, only to look up and see that I’m already at my exit.