Many students have a good reason to look forward to sophomore year; for the majority of them, this means their 16 birthday, which means driving. This is a source of excitement for many teenagers, and rightly so. This gives them a sense of independence, helps them get from place to place in a faster manner than walking, and relieves the stress of parents once they know their child can easily get from place to place without their help.

However, there is another method to get around Highland Park — a bicycle. While being somewhat slower than a car, it’s still efficient, rideable without a license and gets the job done. But the question remains: why drive when you could cycle?

Though they both share first names and blonde hair, Lucy Williams and Lucy Sartain have some differences; one of them being how they get to school.

“My house is too far away,” sophomore Williams said. “I like [driving] because you get [to school] quick… you don’t have to wake up so early.”

She followed up with saying that she would probably have to wake up around 6:30 if she were to cycle to school. Williams is very loyal to driving, as she ended our interview with, “Go driving!”

Another sophomore, Sartain reveals her reasoning behind cycling to school.

“I don’t currently have a driver’s license… my parents don’t drive me because I live within two miles [of the high school], so I bike,” Sartain said. “Faster than walking.”

She expressed a dislike towards biking due to the fact that she is part of both the HP softball team and the Highlander band.

“It kind of sucks after a long rehearsal when you have to bike home, ‘cause then you’re already exhausted, and now you gotta get on this thing and exercise more,” Sartain said.

However, Sartain did say it was nice to have some independence from parents and to decide herself when to come and go from certain places or events.

While there are several methods to get from place to place, it seems driving is the more popular choice. This is mainly due to the time it takes to travel when under certain constraints, such as arriving at school by a certain time. Sartain did say she would drive in the future, but plans to continue biking,as long as the location is a reasonable distance away.  

Regardless of whether a sophomore plans to drive, cycle or even walk, it’s always important to exercise caution and use the appropriate measures to stay safe in the streets. As long as students are safe and arrive to class on time, it doesn’t matter how they get to class.