As the end of the semester approaches, I find it appropriate to reflect on everything that I have learned from my first semester of college.
This story begins in August, on the last day before classes. A day I spent riding around in the back of a cop car.
Before I came to UK, I did not understand the whole process of parking in Klot. Months before, I innocently bought a parking pass online, one that I thought was quite expensive. Where I am from, there are almost as many fields as people, so parking was never really a problem before. Rarely was it not free. I quickly learned that I had underestimated the sheer number of people in Lexington and the traffic and parking chaos that ensued.
About a week after my parents had abandoned me in this new city, I made the long walk to my dorm to Klot to get my car for a Target run, a task that gave me great anxiety. I had not yet learned to drive in the city. As I finally approached the looming expanse of rows upon rows of cars that is Klot, I realized that I had absolutely no idea where I had parked a week ago. Armed with the alarm button on my keys and a confident idea of the general area of where I parked (which later turned out to be very wrong), I began to walk row by row in search of my car.
Fast forward 45 minutes, I was dripping in sweat and deep in the rows of Klot with no sign of my car. I spotted a police officer casually making his rounds through the lot. Asking a cop for help to find a car was something I thought usually reserved for the elderly, yet thirst, exhaustion, and anxiety motivated me to approach the officer.
I flagged the officer down. He pulled up, rolled down his window and then I said, “Sir, I have lost my car.”
“Lost it?”
“Yes, I parked it here a week ago and now I don’t remember where I parked it. I've been looking for the better part of an hour and I have no idea where it is.”
With a slight snicker, he said, “Well, hop on in the back, let’s find it.”
As soon as I secured myself into the back of a cop car, the officer turned around and asked “freshman?”
With an embarrassed smile, I replied, “Can’t you tell?”.
I then proceeded to spend the next half hour riding through a parking lot with a cop. Being someone who always strictly follows the rules, I had only ever seen the back of a cop car on TV. Even though I knew that I wasn’t in trouble, I spent the ride looking out the window of the car and thinking of a million places that I would rather be.
After what seemed like an eternity the officer turned around to inform me that we had driven every row of klot and had not found my car. “ Do you think it could have been towed?”
“I don’t think I did anything to where it would have been towed; I have the right pass displayed, I think, But clearly I have no idea what I’m doing so, honestly, sir, it’s possible.”
The kind officer then proceeded to call the towing company several times, none of which they answered. How helpful.
“Is there any chance that you could have parked in the commuter lot? If you did, you’ll probably have a ticket. I don’t think you would have parked there, but do you think you could have?”
“I’m not entirely sure of the difference, so I very well could have.”
Of course, after about a minute of searching in the commuter lot, we found my car.
I expressed my thanks to the Lord for not letting my car be towed or ticketed and to the officer for helping me find it. The officer gladly accepted my gratitude and left me with the tip to take a picture of where I park in the future.
That day I learned how awesome cops are and to not be afraid to ask for help when you need it because you will need it. Also, make note of where you park.
