Sai Sanjay Devi Week #1 - The Intersection

Sai Sanjay Devi Week 1: The Intersection - 08/26 [9:34 PM]

I crossed the Intersection today, just like any other day. The intersection that I need to cross to get to school. It really does annoy me sometimes. Not only do I live on a street that two hundred kids rely on to drive to school every day, but I live on the side of the street that makes it even worse. There aren't any traffic lights, either. 

When those cars turn, they're turning into my path across the Intersection. So I have to keep track of three different directions, make sure all the cars have stopped, and only then start my treacherous walk across. It's treacherous for a couple of reasons. 



First is the obvious one. If I had missed a couple of moving cars, and they had missed me, there would inevitably be an... interaction. I never get hit, but there have been some close calls, though they are extremely rare.

Second is more of a personal opinion. When you're crossing the Intersection, you have to endure the pressure of the annoyed eyes of every driver within a line of sight of you, almost as if they're chanting, hurry up, hurry up. In fact, I've gotten accustomed to running instead of walking; at least that's less time for the drivers to waste. I become incredibly self-conscious while running, though, and I often cringe to myself after crossing if I had run weirdly. 

There is an alternative, however. I can use the sidewalk, turn left, and continue straight until I come across an actual, painted crosswalk or a part of the road where there aren't as many cars. This approach wastes time, though. According to the Pythagorean Theorem, crossing the road and taking a straight line to school minimizes distance, compared to taking a deviant, perpendicular path. 



This creates a dilemma. Do I save face and mitigate discomfort by taking the slower route, or do I cross the Intersection and embarrass myself?

For a normal person, this would be a no-brainer. Just cross the road and be done with it. But I’m me. I’m shy, and I hate being the center of attention, which is part of my personal identity. I have two possible paths from here. Will I change, become bolder, and triumph my fears? Or will I succumb to those fears and continue avoiding the Intersection? Only time will tell.

I really do hate that intersection.

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