Don’t Complain About Construction.

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By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes

I took an (impromptu) ride through downtown Detroit the other day. Most days I wouldn’t mind taking a spur-of-the-moment trip through the city— Detroit is a beautiful place, especially at dusk when the sun is setting and the city lights are beginning to shine a little brighter—however, as we drove deeper and deeper into the epicenter of my hometown, I could not get past my overwhelming irritation with all the construction going on around me. Construction was the reason we were forced to take the “scenic route” through downtown in the first place and now that we’re in the heart of this beautiful place, all I can see is orange and white construction barrels, gravel, dust, detour signs and signs that warned of a $1,500 fine if I killed any construction workers and I kept thinking, “I am SO sick of construction.”

There is literally construction EVERYWHERE in Detroit and surrounding cities right now—on freeways, downtown, in my housing complex—it seems like everything is happening at one time and because of all this construction, the traffic flow, at anytime of day, is dreadful. An impromptu trip through downtown Detroit (because of construction) was made even worse by slow moving traffic on major streets! I sat in the back seat of the car vexed, trying to contain my anguish as I looked out the window surveying miles of construction while we slow-rolled down Woodward Ave. I got fed up with looking at all the commotion and decided to divert my attention to a completely different direction.

As we continued our Woodward Ave. slow-roll I started to point out new restaurants and hangout spots that I had been to, new places I had heard about, planned to visit and some places I had never even seen. My thoughts wandered from being irritated to making mental notes of what’s new to do downtown. It dawned on me that at one point these new places were construction sites, the places I was making plans to visit were once the bane of my irritation but now, as a finished product these places would be the source of good times and an energetic city.

Even in our personal lives when it seems like change is more overwhelming than inspiring because there is so much going on at one time and you feel as though you aren’t making very much progress, consider construction as a symbol of completion…in the near future, at least. Though these numerous construction sites are serving as an inconvenience right now, the promise of safe roads, new businesses, restaurants and hangout spots and the beginning of a new mass transit system, serve as an incentive to remain optimistic.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s loathes running into traffic jams and construction blocks but if we could learn to anticipate what is to come, you can use positivity to appreciate construction instead of complaining while you sit in traffic.