When I turned 16, I was blessed enough to receive my first car for my birthday (seriously, thank you so much, Mom and Dad). When I stepped out of my front door and saw her for the first time, it was like love at first sight. A beautiful white Jeep was sitting outside my house with a big ol’ bow on it, and I was lucky enough to call her mine.
At that age, the number one thing that was most exciting about having a car was the same for everyone: it meant freedom. You now had the power to go wherever you want whenever you want (as long as you asked your parent’s permission).
Now I could blast whatever music I wanted to listen to as loud as I wanted on the way to school. It was now hassle-free to go over to my boyfriend’s house after school and on the weekends because now I could take myself. I had the ability to go on late night McDonald’s runs with my friends and have deep talks in the car until the sun came up.
Little did sixteen-year-old me know that my car would soon turn into so much more than just a car.
When I left for college, I was fortunate enough to be going to school that wasn’t that far away from home, and my parents let me take her with me even for my first year. Again, this meant having the freedom to escape my little college town whenever I needed to as well as being able to help other people with errands and other things that they needed to do but didn’t have a car to get them done.
It is when I started my sophomore year of college that my car really became one of the most important things in my life.
My sophomore year I chose to move off campus with a few friends into Apartment Land. I was so stoked about this because I love to cook and if you didn't know, cooking in a dorm is close to impossible. So, now I can cook in my kitchen and I don’t have to wear shower shoes anymore!
Sadly, the relationships I have with my roommates started to go downhill real fast and my car was my only way of escape. I was able to leave the apartment whenever I had to. I could drive into the wheat fields and sing my heart out until all my troubles melted away. Sometimes I would go out to my car to take naps or to have conversations that I couldn’t have in the apartment due to the paper thin walls.
My car is my safe haven. I feel safe, comfortable, and happy when I am sitting behind the wheel. I can run to her when I am lonely or upset and just one drive makes everything okay. She is truly a friend, confidant, and support system. It is incredible that something that can’t talk to me can do all of those things for me. She is truly my most prize possession and she is completely irreplaceable.
