Hi. My name is Talia. And I have road rage.

Seriously. It's bad. I get very angry when people go way too slow in the left lane or cut people off to get in the far left lane for no reason or when people make stupid choices that risk other people's lives. All valid concerns... not worth rage though.Today, driving into work, the traffic was gross. There was a 5 car pile up and it was nasty. I was trying to merge from the HOV/toll lane onto the highway and get to the right because the accident was in the left lane. This nice guy in a bright blue pickup truck saw me trying to get over. He had been sitting in the mess longer than I (short cut through the HOV/toll lane) but he said to me (our windows were down), "Do you want to get over?" And I said yes. So he didn't blaze forward, he waited patiently for me to be able to drive forward and get in front of him. He wasn't obsessed with beating the other drivers on the road or totally in his own world. It made a huge impact on me.My carpool buddy, Chad, always laughs at me when I drive. Well, he laughs at me even when I am just the passenger. I get mad when people cut us off or do things that could cause an accident or are just stupid. He just drives along without strong emotion, just trying to get home safely to his family. And I wonder, why can't I be like that?"What's your rush? We will get there." OH! So annoying! My dad still lectures me on driving. In the past year we had a few opportunities to travel together where I drove. Don't tailgate, don't pass so crazy, you are going to fast... Didn't he see that I had somewhere to go and these people were in my way? He told me, "Some drivers are like children, they want to play games with you. Slam on their brakes, cut you off, speed up. Some drivers are like parents thinking, you cut me off and I need to teach you a lesson. And they bait the drivers." Okay fine, dad... then what kind of driver am I supposed to be?!"A safe one. I just want you to get home safely and in one piece. And I don't care if you are late. You are with me."Thanks dad.Thanks Mr. blue pick up truck driver.The road rage isn't cured but I think I am on the right path.