I believe in traffic lights.

They are the guardian angels of the roads, my dad said; the entity that signals and guides all drivers alike. Green, yellow, red—over and over, it is as predictable as the Earth’s rotation.

However, though the traffic light in itself is clear-cut, the actions of the driver do not always follow suit.

I remember wondering at one point of my childhood why the vehicle I was in always seemed to be going forward, always in a seemingly straight path; it was as if the roads were bending for our car. Sitting at a red light, staring at the south facing cars in the upper left corner and the west facing cars to the east of me, both were moving against the ‘straight’ direction of the road—my direction of the road. I could hardly express myself when I asked my parents why we couldn't be on “the other side” or face “the other way”. I wanted to know what it felt like to not be on the “straight” path.

Of course, no matter how long I've waited to ride on the seemingly wayward side of the road, it never came. No matter whose car or truck or bus I had ridden in.

Moving on with my life, I started to realize that things were not always as they seem. Parents nagging me, teachers assigning homework—they were not always done with the intention to spite me, but rather for my own benefit.

The most jarring realization I've had was when a certain character from a certain book in which fellow readers and myself believed to be the cruelest, most sickening character ever created turned out to be the noblest of them all.

Sometimes, even the seemingly most unforgivable deeds can be justified, or at least understood.

Thanks to moments at the traffic light, a particular book, exposure to twisted events, and inconclusive situations, I am proud to say that I now know why the roads seemed straight to me. I have come to realize that everyone travels a different path and in various ways, a path that may seem clear only to oneself.

However, my desire to see “the other side” has yet to diminish; I believe that even in the most seemingly monotonous and clear-cut situations, a new approach can and will be seen, a new perspective I would love to explore.