The Road Less Traveled By Anonymous

A flurry of snow blew into my mouth as I took a deep breath and trudged down the street. I could not see the pavement ahead of me; my thick scarf had blocked off view. I pulled down my scarf and looked to my right, observing the row of cars making the same journey from school to home. The first graders in these cars were dry and warm, protected by a moving vehicle my family deemed unnecessary.

"Why, mom and dad?!" I cried out in my head, angered at my parents for making a decision that I had no part in - a decision that, at the time, I disagreed with.

My family, unlike most other families in my hometown, has never owned a car. When my parents migrated from Moscow, Russia to Brookline, Massachusetts, they decided that being close enough to a big city meant that we did not need to rely on a car for our transportation. As an elementary school student, I envied the kids who could go to out-of-town birthday parties and the kids whose cars dropped them off outside of the school when a blizzard raged outside.

To me, a car seemed like the best mode of transportation; it seemed like something that would make my family fit into our town's culture. My parents continuously reminded me the environment would later thank us for not owning...