Dear Los Angeles Traffic,

A lot has been said about you, much of it is that you are the worst thing in the world aside from nuclear war. Locals say you are such a waste of time and exactly what is not needed at the end of a long day, especially when the driver is tired. You cause numerous accidents which make people late and back up the freeway with congested cars for miles. You extend every commute by at least half the time it would take to get there and sometimes, you truly are not what I need.

But I would like to say thank you.

Coming from someone who has never been to Los Angeles but has always dreamed about it, the traffic that locals so vehemently despise, I don't mind. I come from a state that is notoriously over-populated and makes getting anywhere within a ten-mile radius virtually impossible, especially around rush hour. Living in LA makes me realize that I'm thankful for traffic that actually moves instead of traffic that makes you sit on the Garden State Parkway for hours having moved all of three feet.

As I sit in my car, I can think about my day, blast some music, people watch the drivers around me, and check out the surrounding city. I'm only here for a semester and I want to take advantage of it. Yes, you can be tedious, especially when trying to switch lanes (don't even get me started on merging off of an on-ramp), but for the most part, you remind me to slow down in a fast-paced city.

So LA Traffic, I'm going to miss you when I leave in December. But for now, I'll enjoy driving slowly down the 101 at rush hour, soaking all of it in.

Love,

Allegra