Growing up, I remember the feeling of driving around in the backseat of my parent’s 1990-something Jeep. The wind in my hair, the sun on my skin, and the giant smile across my face. However, memories can fade and they aren’t always the most accurate after a while. In reality, I was probably around 4 years old in a car-seat smiling at anything that we passed. But I loved that car.

Then it happened. The worst day of my young life. My parents dropped me off at my grandparents’ house to have a sleepover and I was so excited. What fun! They always give me candy and let me watch as much TV as I want! I thought. Little did I know, it was all a part of their plan. Butter me up and it makes it easier to drop me.

The next morning, after my night of total happiness, my parents came to pick me up. But when I looked out the window, I didn’t see their car. As a small child who clearly didn’t make connections easily, I just assumed that it was a random person parking in my grandparents’ driveway. I continued on with eating my breakfast of Frosted Flakes. But then my parents knocked on the door. That’s when I knew something was up.

When they came inside, I immediately questioned them, asking if they borrowed someone’s ugly grey car and left our beautiful green jeep at home. They explained to me that they got a new car. And they were happy about it! And the worst part? They wanted me to be happy about it too! Did they not have any idea how much I loved our car? I had planned for it to be mine (in a short twelve years) when I started driving! Now that dream would never happen.

Fast forward twelve years and you will see me practicing for my driver’s test in the car that I love. Yes, that’s right. It’s the same car that my parents once drove to pick me up at my grandparents’ house all those many years ago. I named him Quentin (Q for short) and he became a part of my life. Q was the reason why I passed my drivers’ test (the second time). We went everywhere together. The beach? Sure! Let’s take Quentin! Ohio? OK, I’ll drive Q! High school? Of course! It’s only three minutes away, we can make it! But slowly, I started to notice that something was wrong.

The same Quentin who had taken me to the beach so many times before was not driving as fast, making a three-hour cruise in to a day trip. The Quentin who had driven eight hours to Ohio, about 100 times, broke down on the way there. Luckily, a random man at the gas station we stopped at used my hair tie to fix it (I’m still not really sure how that worked, but somehow I made it the rest of the way and back). The Quentin who drove me to school every morning got into a car accident, which stopped his trunk from ever opening again (OK, that one might have been my fault).

After about 14 years and 162,000 miles, it was time to let go. I had been through this before, but it didn’t make it any easier. The thing that did make it easier was the fact that I was about to get a 2016 Jeep Compass! Heck yeah! It’s been one week and I am loving life. Never been happier! The memories of my two old (and I mean old) friends will probably fade, so I think all will be well. Catch me riding around in my new car! #FullCircleJeep