Van Ree's Voice

Two-lane roads

I’ve noticed beside the major highway that runs through the spacious state of Nebraska, almost every outlet from town is a two-lane road. Unless you hit the right time of day and you see no one, you usually pass a car or two. It’s just you, the road, and that passing car for a few brief seconds. You are going your way and the other drivers are traveling their own path. You most of the time never know who is in the other car, where they have been, or their story. Well, unless you are from Rochester, Wash. because in that town it’s most likely one of your best friends or someone you are related to passing by.

You may never see those people again that pass by you. Or, in the case of tragedy, those people could be the most influential people in your life if the ice is too slick and a collision takes place.

You never know how big of an impact, bad or good, any person or stranger can have on your life.

A two-lane road is a lot like life. You are headed one direction and usually others have their own path. You may not understand theirs or where they are going, and you certainly can’t tell by looking at them where they have been. Be it if they turned the street corner right before you drove up or have been traveling on the same road for a hundred miles.

You can never be too sure what a person has been through. People are the same as traveling cars in a sense. That old man you passed on the street could be battling cancer. The girl eating lunch at McDonald’s across from you might have had the worst night of her life last night. I’m not trying to say this to act wise beyond my years, but everyone has a story.

The people I have met in Sidney so far have all amazed me by their tales. Whether they use to live in Sidney and moved away just to return again years later, or have just moved here and are far away from their family, just like me.

It’s second nature for humans to judge a person just by what they see before them. But before being too critical you can remind yourself that you know nothing about that complete stranger staring out the bus window. They could be thinking about what they are going to eat for lunch or their sick mother.

I think everyone has a story, whether they think they are a boring person or not. Most of us have traveled different paths. Don’t be ashamed of the pain you’ve overcome or the times you have failed at something. It’s all part of your story and your story is important.

Contact Hannah Van Ree at [email protected]