Peering into windows
I was originally going to continue on with my journey but noticed something that got me thinking. How many people look into the car windows of strangers cars as they pass by? I have to admit that I do this quite regularly, but only recently started questioning why I was doing it. When I was a teenager/ young adult I know that I was looking to see if there was some attractive being sitting in the car next to me. I no longer have that reason, I know. So why am I looking?
I realized only recently that I wasn’t even looking at the people inside, but rather the items that create their space. Are the people on the phone? Wearing sunglasses? Do they have car seats in the back? Is the car messy or clean? Are there flowers laid across the seat? Who could they be for?
Everyone has their own version of what “normal” is, or at least what it should be. Can you imagine being plugged into someone elses life? As I look into other people’s cars while driving down the road I wonder what their life must be like. Is this strange?
I can’t imagine putting on makeup while driving, but I know that many people do it. What is so incredibly hectic that they can’t manage to get it done before driving away? What about the car whose backseat is filled with balloons. Are they about to surprise someone? Were they just surprised? Then I realize that the person must be a big part of someones life to be either receiving or giving them. Good for them.
On a more serious note, I notice things others may not. I notice the disgruntled teenager in the back seat who doesn’t seem to be apart of the life inside the car. Is she just being a typical teen or is there something more to this story. What about the 2 year old whose arm is in a cast? Does he have some medical condition that causes brittle bones? Is he accident prone? Or is it something more sinister there. 
Then, of course, there is always a parent that is seems oblivious to their child’s emotions. Is that child truly unhappy? I wonder what happened in that family’s morning?
All of these are questions that I do not have the answers to. Maybe its the endless possibilities of the unknown that make it so intriguing. Maybe I look to see what is “normal” to others.
Does anyone else do this? What are you looking for? Do you notice things other than what I mentioned?
I wonder what people see when they peer into my car windows…………..
I love waving at little kids in the backseat. It gives the parent a little break from whatever they were screaming about before. And theres a moment in the car when it’s all smiles.
I know what you mean. I have done that too! Its the simple things that seem to make kids days. Thanks for sharing with me.
Fascinating post! I look in car windows too. I’m also baffled by the sheer number of women i see putting on make up or men shaving….
I’ve seen men shaving too. Isn’t that just odd? I guess if you’ve overslept and its a matter of importance it makes sense. Coming from a woman who wears makeup, I just don’t leave home without it. I can’t imagine trying to perfect my face while driving. I have enough trouble in my bathroom! Thanks for reading.
I love this, a snap shot of your life through a moving window. In today’s society we spend more and more time in our cars they really have become an extension of ourselves.
What I find interesting is that you have a picture of a guy smoking in his car with the child in the back. Once upon a time I couldn’t sit in my car without lighting a cigarette, now that I’ve quit smoking I find more and more that people are not cognicant of people who choose to smoke for me.
I love to watch people, and try and take what I see and put it into some sort of context. Perhaps that is the mark of a writer, we must find the story.
I use to smoke and so I find that I cannot bring myself to criticize those that do. I will add that I never smoked in my house or my car while my kids were with me. Still I find that many parents do and I see this constantly while driving around. Maybe it is just the writer searching for the story that prompts me to keep looking. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
I rarely look into other cars, but I do often see someone & wonder what their story is and sometimes my imagination takes me away. Same kind of thoughts go through my mind as go through yours. People watching at its finest.
Absolutely. I wondered how many other people did this. Thanks so much for reading.
I do the same, not in the car, but almost everywhere else lol. I think it’s mainly women who do so…men are in general not that interested in other mens’ lives. Also, when I was still a young unmarried girl, I wasn’t that interested either. I so wondered about women looking at me and watching what I was doing.. but now I am doing the same. Maybe as grown-ups we also want to learn from others and are searching for ways to renew our lives..
Thanks a lot for dropping by my blog. I see links on your sidebar some Hashimoto..are you hyper? I also have Hashimoto,, but hypo…
Thanks for reading. Hashimotos causes hypo, yes, but I also have Graves disease which causes the opposite. In a perfect world they would have equaled each other out. Because of my rotten luck though I fluctuate between the two. Thanks for your thoughts.
well my story is a lil different. i look into parked cars to see my own reflection in the window loll a lil self concious.
naah dnt really chek out ppl in the car coz sumtymes it can get really gross. i remember once i saw 4 cars almost one afta anatha wid drivers pikin their nose lol.
I see a lot of people pickin noses too. not my favorite thing to witness. lol. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
I always wonder where they are going, especially if they are flying down the road ahead of the pack. What’s their story, who they are, etc.
I know what you mean. Why are YOU in such a damn hurry. lol. Thanks for reading.
I can say with a 100% certainty that I am one of those people who stair in people’s car. For the reason any boy with the age of begin twenties would do such a thing. Just to see whether there’s a cute girl in the other car. I don’t really watch emotions, items or other stuff. At least, I think so, but probably this blog will change that. Thnx for sharing!
No problem. It was just something that came to mind and sparked a curiosity. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
really enjoyed this! most of the time I’m driving, singing, paying attention to the road, but at stop lights I often look over…. The picture of the girl putting on makeup… OH MY! I would be nervous that she might slip and bump the wheel and hit my car or something.
Glad you enjoyed this. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts!
I usually peer into people’s cars if they’ve just made me upset because of their driving… I know it’s horrible but its true. So I keep track of gender, ethnicity, and age group.
Also, when their music is blaring… I notice. It’s somewhat disturbing to hear Cher being “blasted” and discovering a middle aged man with all his windows down. Weird.
When my friends and/or siblings and I are in the car we like to play the sweet and sour game-waving to everyone we pass and if they wave back-they’re sweet; if not, they’re sour. Sometimes we see people picking their nose or singing at the top of their lungs (or so it seems the top of their lungs)
Many reasons as to why I peer and what I discover
The sweet and sour game sounds fun. My kids and I play license plate bingo, where we hunt for out of state plates on cars. I’m always curious to see who is driving them. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
This has been an interesting post to read. I find myself looking at others as they drive by, and it’s terribly fascinating to me that people forget they are surrounded by windows. I guess, when you are closed inside a car, you feel like you’re in a little room and forget that people are looking in. I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff, and lots of people arguing. I try not to stare, but I do notice when people are doing strange stuff.
Good post!
Sparrow
You are right. I honestly don’t drive around wondering who is staring at me, until now anyways!
I just get it my private little car and go. Thinking about how many times I have thought – “look at the crazy chick over there” LOL. I wonder how many people have thought that about me. I’m investing in curtains!
I never thought of that, now I want to put a big, “Yes, I really am doing that while driving.” poster, or a, “YeAh, I’m CrAzY.!?” poster in my car…when I get one…
That’s awesome. Love the idea of the sign. You have to do that!
I don’t normally look at the person, but I look at the car. I’m a gearhead. I love cars! And I notice what’s behind me, what’s in front of me and on my sides. Sometimes, I’ll see what’s up ahead such as a Mercedes Benz AMG SL and try to catch up to see if I was correct. THEN I’ll take a peek at who’s driving.
We all have our little “games” and wonder. It’s human nature. Nothing wrong with it at all. It’s perfectly natural to be curious and ask questions. Some people are more inquisitive than others!
Excellent post! Made me think!
I guess we do all have our own little “games”. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts.
truth be told, i still try to check out if the guy driving the hot, sleek car gives the car justice. hahaha. shallow, shallow me.
nice post!
How very shallow of us all! Thanks for reading and sharing your own thoughts.
hey your current theme is the first i tried out! it was a coincidence i guess that i only noticed later the bubble-like forms in the background
they matched my blog perfectly.
to get back to this post….just thought i’d let you know i loved it. glad to see there are others who have a fetish for observing!
i peek at people and let my imagination go crazy. there’s so much to speculate about, especially two people sitting together in the front seat. if they’re not talking, i wonder why they aren’t. i think about their relationship. did they fight? were they sulking? maybe they’re just bored with each other.
can’t help waving at cute kids that stare back at me, trying to make them smile
i think that’s why people like us blog. we observe. we think. and we like sharing.
thanks for visiting my blog!
There is definitely a lot to speculate about. I notice when people aren’t talking to each other also. I wonder if they are related and how. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Disgruntled teenagers? Sounds like me, but I’m not the typical type…or at least I don’t think so. As far as how many do this, well you can add me to the list, mainly just cause I’m curious what others do with their time…
Men shaving? I’ve never seen that one before.
Maybe being so curious about others is what makes for a good writer. If thats the case I am glad I am part of that club. Thanks for stopping by.
I think curiosity makes for a great writer…although I do not consider my curious self one. Mainly I think the reason I don’t think of myself as a good writer is that I like to focus on the idea of writing fiction, something I’m not very good at. As far as blog writing, I think I am at least competant. Except for grevious spelling errors like that one right there (and that one there).
Lol. I think we all are our own worst critics and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with everything you’ve written that I have read so far.
(in reply to last comment, because can’t reply into third nested comments *pet-peeve alert*)
Oh, why thank you, not bad for a lowly teen?
This does bring up a question though, I’m always curious about how people imagine me when they first meet me online, how old (approx.) did you think I was when you read the first thing you saw of my writing? An adult? Or was it something giving away my age?
Honestly I assumed you were at least in your early twenties. You write extremely well for your age. Does that happen often?
Well, I think the reason I’m an okay writer (I can’t quite bring myself to say “good” yet) is because I’m a great reader. I’ve always read books a lot, my parents usually have to tell me to put down the book and go to bed instead of video games or something.
The reason reading always appealed so much was that I have a good imagination. It’s so fun to put myself into a story while reading it. Better than any video game when you’re just playing another person, or an alternate you, with structured rules.
Early twenties? I think that’s probably about the same reaction I’ve gotten before. What’s really funny to me is this professional email I sent to a random person, offering my services to work on his program with him, and he replied something like, “Yeah, but are you okay working with a seventeen-year-old?”
Of course, my reply was, “Are you okay working with a sixteen-year-old?” Oh wait, I just gave out my exact age…so what? I don’t really care if people know, what are they gonna do about it? Sorry about starting a rant on your blog, but this just gave me another post idea.
You are an excellent writer. I think that those with the most vivid imaginations make the greatest writers and that probably explains why you come across wiser than your years through the cyber community. Feel absolutely free to rant where you want. No worries here!
I must admit I’m fascinated by the post and the comments! I’m not a looker… whoops, I mean I’m cute but I don’t look in other cars. I’m the goofy lady you tend to gawk at who has just finished singing at the top of her lungs some boy-band song. I do know that I’m surrounded by windows, I just don’t care!lol! Besides, what would the rest of ya talk about if us idiots didn’t behave like that in the car next to you, right?
Good for you! Seriously you shouldn’t care. There are a lot of things that I do (mostly say) because I honestly just don’t care. You either love me or you don’t. And yes, we definitely need you. Thanks so much for the loads of entertainment because it has made for the great post! Truly though, I am probably the entertainment 50% of the time. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
I don’t really look unless they have done something to make me mad, and then usually it is so I can make faces at them because it makes me feel better. Yeah, not the most mature but it helps me combat road rage. Plus, it is better than giving the finger.
Making faces at people is always awesome, especially if it helps combat the rage! Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for checking out my blog today and for your comments. I too am new at this whole blogging thing, so it means the world when a complete stranger takes the time to read what is on my mind!
Your post about peering into car window really resonates with me – I have done this many times, and even have gone so far a peering into windows when I am stopped at a stop light. I am hoping to catch glimpses of candid happiness, but mostly I see anger and frustration.
Thanks for your post!
You are very welcome. I see a lot of anger and frustration also. Thanks for stopping by.
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Just wanted to drop by and than you for inviting me into the conversation here at thypolarlife.
Sometimes the only glimpse i get into other people’s reality is through the car windows or an open front door. Our society is disconnected from one another on a basic human level and maybe we’re losing our touchstone for normality. Maybe that’s what we’re looking for when we spy into another person’s car…
Oooh. I like it. That’s a different direction of thought. I agree though, maybe that is what we are looking for. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. You’ve made me think.