Road Trips, You Will Always be Famous

Road trips. Sitting with your friends, blasting music, windows down, there’s nothing quite like it. 

When I was a kid, I hated them. I have two other siblings, so the car always felt cramped. I would complain about them, ask if we could take the train or any other mode of transport. But now, when I look back, I wouldn’t change a thing. 

The endorphin rush of getting to pick the next song or playing I Spy with my siblings are childhood memories I will always cling to. As I got older, the concept of what a road trip was changed. Suddenly, games of I Spy were traded for gossip and laughs with my girls, and the music of my childhood was swapped for City Girls and Taylor Swift. It was the sort of change that feels so natural, I didn’t even notice it. 

My friends became my go-to road trip group, and I am so happy about it – doing three people per car so there’s plenty of space, stopping at state signs to take funny pictures, and jumping through eight different topics of conversation per minute have become staples in my roadtripping. It’s the only mode of transport where I don’t feel like I have been traveling all day, because in my mind, I have just been hanging out with my friends. The only difference is that the space we’re hanging out in has wheels and is going somewhere.

As I continue to grow, I’m sure my road-tripping style will evolve with me. Maybe it’ll include more podcasts and audiobooks. Maybe one day there will be children in the back who are asking me to cue songs and play I Spy. Maybe it’ll stay a friend ritual, who knows? All I know is that I will always road trip. 

I think it’s interesting that road trips are such a staple in society. They are a symbol of freedom and provide the opportunity to do whatever you want. This isn’t new. In fact, since the 50s and 60s when the interstate highway was established, so did road trips. They were a smaller concept before that in the 1920s when Route 66 connected Chicago and Los Angeles, but the World Wars slowed that trend before it really had time to take off. Since the 50s, though, there has been evidence of the freedoms of road trips littered in media and literature. Whether that was Thelma and Louise showcasing the freedom and their break from societal norms, or it was books like On the road by Jack Kerouac, which models roadtrips as a connection to freedom and adventure. Both of these examples frame road trips as a leap into the unknown in a way that is really beautiful and authentic to the experience. Obviously, sometimes the objective is getting from point A to point B, but sometimes it’s about the journey itself. I argue both have their place and a beauty of their own. 

So, consider this my love letter to the time-honored tradition of road trips. To the scenic landscapes I have been engulfed into throughout them. To the secrets shared and kept within the four walls of a friend's car. To it all. Thank you for all you’ve given and continue to give me.