Juan Nieto
02-17-16
English 306 – Advanced Nonfiction Writing
Erin Anderson
The life a Car Has Brought Me
What does owning a car mean to other people? Do people just think of it as an object that they use in order to get from place to place and that’s it? Or are there any other types of feelings that make a car more than a simple automobile? I have owned my car for almost two years now, and although it was a high school senior year gift from my mom, I have had to spend a lot of money in the car. From gas, to car-maintenance, to cleaning, auto parts, parking tickets, mechanics, some updates; makes it sort of feel as if I been paying for the car myself. Maybe that’s why I appreciate my car more than people can imagine, because of how much work, effort and care I have put in it. I own a 2007 silver Toyota Yaris, which is not a fancy car at all, but that’s my baby right there. Another factor that I think makes me appreciate my car as much as I do, is the fact that, since I need it so much, to commute to school, go on road trips, go to work, visit friends, take a girl on a date, I don’t know how I would get to those places without my car. And I suck at taking public transportation because I don’t take the bus or train that often.
As a result, using my car every day, I believe, makes me more attached to it I’d say. The things my car and I have been through, the stories I could tell about what has happened in that car or to the car could probably be enough to write a separate essay about it. I’m not a car fanatic at all, I barely know car names and about things of that sort, but I do like to keep my car nice and clean. It could be because whenever I want to go to the barber, to either get a lineup or a haircut, which is very often, I feel obligated to also give my car a wash. I bring my car to this carwash in Belmont, very close to my house, after 6pm for their happy hour deal of only 5 bucks! Every two to three weeks I try to go to the barbershop and carwash on the same night. Also, once or twice a year I take my car for a full inside cleaning to the same car wash and the rest of the time I do it myself at home. It would feel unfair to me if I went to the barbershop and look sharp and not do the same for my car, we look good together clean. Would it make a difference if I went out on the weekend without washing my car and getting cleaned up? That might be something people might say is why I do those things together.
As I try to recall I do not quite remember when it was that I started to relate haircuts and carwash together and do them during the same night. However, I am sure that when I first got my car I did not think of these two things as I do now. Recently though, I been trying to save money in as many ways as I can, including by not getting a haircut and a car wash as often as every two weeks or so. Those 25 dollars start to add up. If I kept track of how much money I have spent in my car overall, I wonder what the total amount of money that would be. I know I have spent some money that was not necessary, but I still wanted to do it for my car, like getting the windows tinted, and getting a remote starter installed. Both came in handy even though they were expensive. Personalizing my car to my life has giving it its own persona in a way that describes what I like and how I am. I take care of my car a lot not only because is the very first car I have owned, but it’s also the only I have.
My life changed a lot when I first got my car. It was like a grown up alert which meant that now I have more responsibilities. Becoming an adult, my family has told me, means being able to have a good sustainable job, own a house and a car. Getting the car meant I’m getting close to that dream and independent. Ultimately, though, there are many good things about having your own car, but there also cons to the pros. Owning a car in a city like Boston, is tough because there is usually a parking issue almost wherever you go. There is either nowhere to park, expensive parking lots, and many times you will get a ticket for a parking violation or get your car towed “at the owner’s expense” if you park where you are not supposed to. The problem is that there are too many places in which you are not supposed to park. Sometimes you will find yourself having to park your car literary anywhere you can in order for you to not be late for class, work, or wherever you have to be at. Trust me, having a car counts as having a girlfriend too, even worse if you have both. Money will keep coming out of your pocket in order to keep your car “happy”, meaning in a good condition.
The luxuries of having a car are many as well. You get to drive wherever you want (as long as you have money for gas!). You do not need to rely on anybody’s time or schedule to get a ride somewhere, which I think it’s huge. That includes public transportation as there are many times where I hear how people end up being late to school or work because of MBTA delays. Going on road trips and adding miles to your car is a good way to explore other places you feel like visiting. When my car was my mom’s before she gave it to me, we had travelled to places such as Montreal, Cleveland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Washington D.C., and Cape Cod. At about 182,000 miles it’s hard to decide whether to keep spending money in order to fix whatever needs to get fixed, or start thinking about getting a new car. I don’t know how I would feel about leaving my very first car. Sometimes I feel that I would like to get a new car but other times I just want to keep updating my car and keeping it in good shape.
Memories with that car are many I will never forget. From getting into two car accidents to driving at 4am to places, getting pulled over 4 times and having all of those only be warning issues and not speeding tickets. Getting my car locked in a public parking in Waltham at night one time, to having my battery die around midnight and having to call AAA for help so I could go home and sleep. Spending about an hour to shovel my car out of the snow during the winter last year… My car would literally be completely covered. Driving home after parties when all I wanted to do was be in my bed sleeping, to sometimes letting some of my friends borrow my car whenever they needed to take a girl on a date or something. Now that is another matter in which I don’t even know what might have happened when I was not the one driving my car. Overall, plenty of parental advisory and explicit content described what my car and I have been through. Who knows is next for my car and I together, I hope I can still have my car for a little while more.