by Samantha Schwartz

Life’s seemingly mundane moments say a ton about a person. Take the daily commute to Sherwood, for example. This 10 — 15 minute drive determines the two types of people in this world: those who remain in the left most lane on 108, and those who purposely remain in the right lane on 108 when passing the Doctor Bird intersection.

The first driver is thoughtful, chill, patient (as they plan their lane maneuvers carefully to ensure not ending up in the lane that is bound to end), and overall well-liked. They know the right lane is going to inevitably merge into the left lane so they do not get impatient and sporadically change lanes; they stay calm and collected, as traffic will move. The same cannot be said for the latter. This type of person is always in a hurry (even though they are just going to school), inconsiderate (“I know I am going to cut you off but I don’t care!”), and quick to act. These drivers see that they are stuck in a minute delay of traffic and they just cannot handle this. They must keep moving. So, they swap lanes (usually without a turn signal) and speed away in the right lane coming closer and closer to the almighty merge. They do not give any thought at all to the fact that the number of cars trying to merge into the single lane is what causes the back up in the left lane.

I am the first driver described. I am able to take a deep breath and muddle through the morning traffic comfortably in the left lane. My actions are thoroughly thought out and my cautious driving perfectly reflects my personality.

Now, if everyone were just as calm and collected as the drivers in the left lane (like me), there wouldn’t be any merge traffic at all. So, next time you are waiting in traffic or cutting somebody off, think about what type of person your actions make you.