To the woman who yelled at me while driving,

Your not so comment of calling me a "bi**h'" did not go unnoticed. You left me with your explicit, and then yelled at me to drive. I may be looking into this a little bit too much. I may be overreacting by writing this to you.

But here is what I wish you would have known. First, I wish that I could have been driving faster. But what you didn't see, or may have seen, but still chose to blame me for not switching lanes (which I tried to do, but was unable to do), was that the car in front of me was driving very slowly. I didn't know why. I didn't care why. I was focusing on being careful while I drove home, and trying to switch into the lane that you were in when you yelled at me from your car window.

I wish you would have known that I wasn't feeling the best that day anyways. I wish you would have known that I fought back tears, that later I pulled over to shed before making it home. But then again, I don't. Because that would have meant that your anger behind one small comment would have been my defeat.

I am not angry. I tried to tell you that it was the car in front of me, but it did and does not matter. It was only a small comment, but the emotion you had behind me scared me, and upset me.

Because while it has not happened to me a whole lot, anger like this happens on the road a lot. But here is what I wish you would know.

Sometimes there are things that you do not see right away. Sometimes there is more to the story. Sometimes it is not the driver's fault that you have yelled at. Sometimes, there are cars in front of them that you cannot see, and they are frustrated as well, and you don't help. Sometimes, there is more to a situation that you are judging.

You were not the driver. You were in the backseat. You looked at me with the most anger I have seen in someone in a long time. It doesn't really matter who you were in the car, but it matters that you yelled at me.

I encourage you to be patient. A man the other day pulled up next to me while I was at a red light, waiting for a right turn. Cars had been coming, but then they had stopped. It was late at night, and I couldn't see that well from the angle that my car was, and he was friendly enough to laugh, and say, "ma'am, you can turn." He politely encouraged me to turn, and I said, "Oh, thank you!" I was surprised and thankful that he did not get angry with me, while he was waiting.

Kindness goes a long way. While this was a simple comment made on the road, it scares me because I wonder if you are like that in real life, when frustrated especially. Patience is a virtue that I do not necessarily have, but I will tell you, it can go a long way. It is hard to be patient on the road. But I encourage you to use words kindly. If you feel the need and have the opportunity to direct someone, please do it in a kind matter if you so find it in your heart to do so.

Sincerely,

The girl you yelled at from the other lane