They say that freshman year of college is the best year of your life filled with friends, freedom, and fun. As a current freshman trying to figure out how to live my life without the constant nagging from my mom, I soon came to the realization that just one part of the puzzle is missing. My car. There are an infinite amount of reasons why having a car in college is pretty much a necessity. So, I decided to compose a small list of the biggest inconveniences that I seem to run into on a daily basis.
1. You’re exhausted. Let’s face it, those late nights, early morning classes, and the endless responsibilities you have in college have got you absolutely exhausted. By the end of the day the only thing you want to do is relax and gossip about your latest crush with all of your closest friends. Hate to break it to you, but a 3 mile walk across campus sure doesn’t seem like a fun time to me. So without a car you might as well kiss this fantasy goodbye.
2. The bus is scary and dirty. Go to a big school? Live off campus? These are the questions you should be worried about if they apply to you. In high school, most students have the dream of attending a huge University. This may seem awesome at the time, but once you are at school and car-less this “dream” becomes a cruel reality that definitely bites you in the butt. Without a car your stress level is definitely going to skyrocket when you realize on top of your 17 credit hours you have to learn how to take the bus, which is just an overall nightmare.
3. To satisfy your late night cravings. Unfortunately, fast food is my weakness and Cookout only seems to call my name at 2 a.m when I’m knee deep in a One Tree Hill marathon and have worked up a ferocious appetite. So I think to myself, “I’ll just pause this really fast, grab my keys, and go.” until I realize that this unrealistic due to the fact that I don’t have my car and all of my friends are asleep.
4. For basic essentials. Need more shampoo or makeup? Need to fill your prescription? Is it that time of the month again and you ran out of tampons? or are you just tired of dining hall food? These are simple questions that seem dominate my daily life. Basically, you can say bye-bye to that convienent 3 minute drive up the street to the grocery store or your local CVS because you’re going to have to reserve an entire afternoon for basic errands. So, not only would having a car make your life so much easier it may even give you more time for your academics. Crazy!
5. To go home. As much as we don’t want to admit it, we all get homesick at some point during the school year. Being away from our families, friends, and most importantly our pets is possibly the hardest part of college. Without a car, it is virtually impossible to escape your dorm for a weekend getaway to your hometown, which is honestly a huge problem because how else are we supposed re-stock our fridges without burning a huge hole in our wallets?
So, shoutout to all you freshman out there constantly nagging your friends and struggling daily to get rides everywhere because you’re not alone.
