So your friend is driving down the street, highway, or whatever, and you roll your window down. You stick your hand out the window and let it flow in the wind, and then the idea hits you.

You throw a look into the rear view mirror to make sure no other cars are in your immediate area, and you sit up as far as you can. Finally, you lean over and stick your head and shoulders out of the car and the feeling of pure, unadulterated bliss comes over you. If for some reason you hit a mailbox or whatever it wouldn’t matter, because at least you’d die happy.

Seriously, guys. This is the best. Why does this feel so good? I’m trying to narrow it down here and what I’m getting is this:

1. If you’ve got the right song, you can totally pretend you’re in a music video/movie.

That’s right. Turn on some slow indie tunes and thrust your whole life out that window. You can practically feel your life turning into some dramatic movie you would have been obsessed with in your teens. The dialogue stops and all you hear is music for a few seconds. It’s that scene where your fave character is probably contemplating some hard decision, but at least you’re just on a food run.

2. It just plain feels nice.

The wind on your face is something you can’t really get anywhere else. I mean, you could go outside during a thunderstorm or something, but then there’s rain, lightning, the eminent threat of a tree branch hitting you in the face, which is awful. And a fan just isn’t the same. The rush of sticking your head out a window during a car ride feels great against your face and your soul (if no bugs are involved, anyhow).

3. It’s super relaxing.

Your hair’s flying back, the sound of the tires against the road, and the wind in your ears can make quite the lullaby. Now, I don’t actually suggest falling asleep with your face hanging out the window, but if you’re ever looking for a fool-proof stress reliever, this is it. Just put your hair down (and prepare for some pretty nasty knots later on, if you have longer hair) and let all your troubles fade into the background. Yon won’t be able to hear anything over the noise, anyway.

4. It’s freeing.

It almost feels a little like flying, or what I imagine flying would be like. You can feel and hear the wind against your face, you look up and you see the city or the trees flying past you in a blur. You look down and you see the road passing underneath you. The lines on the street running together. You look up and you see the clouds, moving ever so slowly despite how fast you’re going. You feel weightless.

Anyway, whatever it is that makes sticking your head out the car window, it sure is fun. Dogs really know what they’re doing. Please, for the love of God, just go stick your head out of the car window.