i liked to take the highway home when the weather was warm.

i would roll down all the windows and blast some obscure song by some nameless artist, but i liked it, it made me feel good. i would sing at the top of my lungs and brush the hair that stuck to my face back into my messy ponytail. i would smile as the last licks of the sun cast shadows on my dashboard, and blow past the exit i was supposed to get off at. i felt free on these long stretches of roads, like i could go anywhere and be anybody. nothing felt permanent on the road, nothing was waiting for me, no time was ticking by. i loved it, and i've never loved anything that much.

eventually, i would have to turn around and get off and at each stop light and left turn i felt that freedom diminish. by the time i pulled into my driveway it was gone all together. real life was waiting.