Cruising down the street in my hand-me-down car dodging potholes left and right. How could the ride to school be any more enjoyable? Perhaps by obstructing nearly every route to GlenOak with hoards of construction, traffic and a squadron of busses. Not to mention the train that just so happens to run when students need to cross the train tracks.

Schneider, Easthill, 55th and Easton are all either torn apart or halted due to traffic. As we watch the sunrise, the countdown to 7:25 a.m. becomes more intense by the second. GlenOak students are faced with a perilous journey each morning. 

Not quite sure who is more dangerous on the road, newly licensed drivers rushing to school, or mothers in minivans whipping it like a hellcat. Another vehicular foe would be the fleet of busses barreling down Schneider. Suddenly, the line of busses came to a stop… Why? Because each and everyone must stop at the railroad tracks of course! The number of busses has been doubled to encompass the high school students and middle schoolers (now starting at 7:25 a.m.). 

While this could all be avoided if I were to wake up just 15 minutes earlier, that precious sleep is hard to come by for many students. It is survival of the fittest in the parking lot and the roads leading up to it. New drivers must brave the chaos in order to finally reach their parking spot. Only to find that an underclassman has taken your coveted spot and you’re forced to do laps around the lot in order to find a new place to park. 

Underclassmen seem to always manage to sneak into your spot right before you get the chance to pull in. I then park in another random spot, which triggers a chain reaction leaving rows of misplaced cars. If times get desperate I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself in the staff parking lot searching for a place to park.

By the time you step out of the car after your perilous journey and run towards the building in order to avoid a tardy pass, you immediately have to turn around. You had forgotten a mask in your car parked on the other side of campus. If only you had woken up a little earlier.