The day I got my first car was truly a monumental day, as it probably was for most 16 year olds. There was nothing quite like the independence and pride that everyone felt when they drove themselves to school in their own cars on the first day of junior year of high school. Mine was no where near a perfect car, but it was cute, cheap and it smelled like crayons. At the time, I had no idea what I was in for. I thought I would drive it to school and work, fill it up every two weeks and that would be the end of my cares. I never knew I would have such a love-hate relationship with a vehicle.
My Volkswagen seemed perfect for me until I was driving to school one December morning and came to the realization that I had no heat. After having it fixed only for it to break again weeks later, I realized that I was just going to have to suffer. I'll never forget the feeling of driving down the road with frost covered windows and a blanket wrapped around me. Likewise, I'll never forget driving around on 90 degree July afternoons with no air conditioner and every window rolled down, feeling like I might die of a heat stroke.
There was nothing like getting stranded in the school parking lot alone because the battery died or blowing a tire on a busy highway coming home from work. No matter what it was, something always managed to break at the worst possible time. While these occurrences made me want to question my existence, my friends always got a good laugh out of it.
Although I had many unpleasant experiences with my first car, I have to remember the good times, too. Some of my favorite memories of summer with my friends are driving my car down back roads and through open fields while talking about life and jamming out to Kacey Musgraves. I’ll also never forget the late night drives to Sonic and Waffle House after Friday night football games. Not to mention my car had a sunroof, and everyone knows a sunroof instantly makes a car 10 times better.
After almost two years with my beloved Volkswagen bug, it was time to part ways and move on to something a bit more reliable. That car had more problems than I could count, but each flaw made it unique. My favorite was probably the constant smell of crayons, no matter how many air fresheners I used. While I didn't always know if I could get somewhere safely, somehow at the end of each day the bug always got me back home alive.
