This week, my newest hobby is driving on the highway.

Not fast driving — let’s be clear. With petrol prices these days, speed feels like a luxury lifestyle I haven’t subscribed to. So I’m cruising. Calmly. Economically. Spiritually aligned with the fuel gauge.

It’s morning. The sun is out in that confident, generous way that makes you forgive almost anything. Good music is blasting through the speakers — the kind that makes you nod dramatically at red lights as if you’re in a music video. I’m in a good mood, the kind where it feels like I swallowed the sun and now it’s radiating from the inside, warming my thoughts, my shoulders, even my patience.

And there I am, on the German highway, on my way to work, slower than usual, smiling for no urgent reason at all.

Somewhere between exits and playlists, a thought sneaks in.

Eleven years ago, I was probably doing the exact same thing in Romania. Sitting in a car. Going to work. Same person. Same dreams. Same general direction in life. 

But oh, what a difference those kilometers made.

Back then, it took me 45 minutes to drive 3 kilometers. Forty-five. For three. A daily exercise in endurance, frustration, and existential questioning. I didn’t commute — I survived it. Every traffic light felt personal. Every pothole a declaration of war. I arrived at work already tired, already annoyed, already wondering why adulthood came with so much traffic.

Now? It takes me 45 minutes to drive 40 kilometers.

Same time. Entirely different life.

And the biggest change isn’t the distance. It’s how I feel while doing it.

Because now, I actually enjoy commuting.

I know. Shocking.

It turns out that good infrastructure doesn’t just move cars — it moves moods, energy, entire days. Smooth roads give your thoughts space to wander instead of bounce. Clear rules reduce stress you didn’t even realize you were carrying. Predictability becomes a form of kindness.

I’m no longer fighting the road. I’m flowing with it.

I love that my commute gives me time to think, to listen to music, to feel grateful instead of defeated.

I don’t overthink it. I just enjoy the drive, the music, the calm.

And if this is what commuting feels like now, I’ll take it —
slowly, carefully, and very aware of petrol prices.