Michael Bagley

When I turned 16 in December of 2019, I was given the privilege of controlling a car. From the first moment I had my hands behind the wheel, I felt a feeling of liberation.

6 months later this feeling was elevated once I passed my drivers license exam. I was able to go anywhere I wanted. This was also during lockdown, so the feeling happened to be even more relieving. I was no longer stuck in my house and could go explore anywhere in Pittsburgh and listen to my music as loud as I would like. Not to mention, driving fast was exhilarating. I visited many of the neighborhoods and noticed the beauty I had been ignorant of.

However, watching for landmarks was not the only thing that I started paying attention to. The act of driving makes a person use more non-verbal communication than any other activity in the world. Driving enabled me to learn a lot about people that I would have never interacted with in other situations. A person who cuts you off may not be a bad person, they may just be in a rush to get somewhere. Another person who may be driving 30 in a 35 mile per hour zone could have no care in the world because they are having a great day. The person with their windows down, blasting music is having a great day. The girl who is driving 25 over may have just gone through a bad break up.

Most importantly, I learned that the world is a lot bigger than the community that I grew up in. Personally, I felt I needed a fresh start in life, and driving helped point that out to me. I liked driving so much that I made the 10 hour joyride down to the University of Georgia.