Lessons from Driving in the Snow

Yesterday, we got snow. Not the snow that I'm used to, I mean the 10 inches of snow. The type of snow that goes higher than your snow boots. I didn't think it was that bad when I was walking around not to cold, annoyed at the snow in my boots, but overall, it was just fine.

Then I had the choice: drive to my night class or ride the bus. I'm all for public transit, but if I were to take the bus I wouldn't get home until around midnight, and that walk home might be a little scary. Not to mention multiple buses sliding down hills did not inspire the utmost confidence in my ability to survive.

So, I decided to drive the baby Fiat, which took the kind help of some fraternity men to push it out of the 10 inches of snow it was in, but then I was fine, cruising around. Made it to class and everything was dandy. After class I went to Walmart, and on the way back I took the back roads, which is where this post came from (sorry for the long back story!).

I turned onto the road, it was slushy and there was snow, and there was someone behind me who was following. This freaked me out because I didn't want to be THAT car that went 15 miles per hour when the speed limit was near 50. Luckily, I was the car that went around 25-35 miles per hour with the car behind me going 15. I did what I felt comfortable doing, I did what I felt safe with.

The car behind me eventually had multiple cars close behind them (which I feel like if it's snowing, I'd leave PLENTY of room between cars, just in case). They drove faster, so that they could please those behind them - then they started swerving all over the road. It was scary to say the least, but they gained control eventually and then they resumed there 15 mph pace.

What's the lesson here? Don't let others dictate what you do. It's good to push yourself to do things out of your comfort zone, but if the ONLY reason you are doing things is because you feel pressured to do so, it might not be the best idea. If you don't want to do something because it doesn't feel right, because it doesn't feel safe, then don't do it. Don't let peer pressure get to you.

That's right, peer pressure, I said it. I don't mean that video that was a huge joke in junior high/middle school, that depicts you're friends saying "COME ON, EVERYONE'S DOING IT, DON'T YOU WANT TO BE COOL?". Peer pressure isn't like that, when you get older, peer pressure is more subtle, and it doesn't even have to be from your immediate peers or people you know. Pressure comes from society, your community, the people around you, and your peers. It isn't always explicit, people don't tell you, but you will constantly be challenged by the norm, the pressure comes from what "everybody" is doing.

Peer pressure is real and it is always around you. If I could offer any advice, if you don't feel safe, if you don't feel right about something and the only reason you are thinking about it is because it's what you THINK everyone else is doing, think about why YOU want to do it. That answer to why you, and always you, would do something should be enough. Don't change who you are, to become what everyone else wants you to be.