As a preteen, I grew up watching "High School Musical." The popular Disney movie portrayed high school to be absolutely spectacular by all means. It wasn't long into my freshman year that I realized high school wasn't nearly what High School Musical portrayed it to be -- it was far from spectacular at all.
My first three years of high school, I watched as the seniors pulled up to school in their cool cars and imagined how cool it must be to have your own car. As a senior, many of my peers were driving themselves to school every morning while I lived close enough to walk. However, I knew I would never get a car until I could afford to buy one myself or would be lucky if my parents helped me finance one. Little did I know, my dreams of being a senior with a cool car were about to become reality.
It was a day just like any other; Monday, August 21, 2015 to be exact. My senior year of high school had been in full swing for two, going on three weeks, and I could already tell I was beginning to come down with a serious case of senioritis. As anyone knows, Monday is almost always the most difficult day of the entire week. School ended at 3:10 as usual and I went straight home, changed out of my blue jeans and blouse for a t-shirt and leggings, hopped in bed and took a nap. I recall being exhausted all day because I only slept for five and a half hours that night. I was practically dead asleep, when at 5:25, my phone, which was right next to my pillow, began to vibrate, waking me up. Groggily, I rolled over and answered it just before it went to my voicemail. It was my mom.
She was telling me I needed to come outside to help her bring in groceries. I obliged and hung up the phone. After getting a good stretch I relaxed my body and lied in bed for a minute more. It took me another minute or two to build up the energy to get myself out of bed and go help my sweet mother bring in the groceries.
Sluggishly, I got out of my warm and cozy bed, threw on some flip-flops, and shuffled my feet out the front door. My tired eyes were only capable of opening half way and I did not have my glasses on. Despite my visual impairment, I could see that my mom's car was in the driveway—but where was she? Completely confused, I stopped in my tracks.
"Mom?" I called out.
"I'm on the street at the end of the driveway" she replied.
The end of my driveway is not visible from my front porch as there are dozens of very tall azalea bushes separating our driveway and the pathway leading from the street to the porch. Still very confused, and assuming perhaps my parents had switched cars for the day and my dad got home early from work while I was napping, I continued down the pathway to the street. As I was passing the last few azalea bushes and the street came into view, my jaw dropped, In front of my very eyes was a convertible baby blue Volkswagen Beetle. "Surprise!" my parents shouted. I could tell they were waiting for a response from me, but I froze. "This is for you!" my mom said with excitement while my dad stood with the camera, ready to take pictures if I would ever react.
I was in complete disbelief. I never would have dreamed that one day my parents would get me a car—and not in high school—and not a super cute one a that! My mom handed me the keys and I hopped into the driver's seat. I was so excited to show my boyfriend my new ride! They waved as I drove off, headed towards his house. Once I got there, I pulled into his driveway and honked my horn twice. As I saw his face peek through the curtains, I watched his facial expressions change from confusion to excitement. He came running out the door to me and my car, the roof down and the radio on. He hopped in and we drove off with no particular destination in mind. With the wind blowing through my hair, the sun on my skin, the clouds above, and my cute boyfriend by my side, I felt as if we were Danny and Sandy at the end of Grease as they drove off into the clouds. My senior year was pretty spectacular after all!
