When I got my drivers license on my 16th birthday, I was lucky enough to be given a car from my parents. Little did they know, they had just gifted me an unbreakable bond- the bond between woman and Subaru.

My first car, which I still drive to this day, was a silver 2004 Subaru Forester. Nothing special, just an old car with great all-wheel drive. Perfect for a new driver in north eastern Ohio. It had worn leather seats, a sunroof that didn’t work, and countless dents and scratches. My mom likes to say that it “hit everything but the lottery” before becoming mine.

I come from a family with a deep history in all things racing, so I’d like to think that I have a little of that in my blood. This being said, I wanted to make the car look cool. The windows were already tinted extremely dark, as the car came from the south, but I immediately knew that I wanted to powder coat the wheels black to match. Then, my dad had a straight-pipe exhaust put on to give me a little bit of a Subaru rumble (without sounding cheesy).

I learned to love this car, dents and all, and decided that it needed a name so I could love it properly. The funny thing about this car was that, upon delivery, we noticed that there was a huge sticker on the sunroof that read “sunshine daydream” with flowers all over it. We tried and tried to get that sticker off, but it just wouldn't budge. I was stuck with it. This being said, I decided to name her “Nova,” after a free-spirited woman I know named Nova Brilliant.

Nova, unfortunately, is prone to breaking. Every time I have something fixed, something else goes wrong. I am so thankful for my parents who have put thousands of dollars into my car, when they could easily just get rid of it and buy me a new one. My dad really recognizes how much I love Nova and he says that he loves her too, because she keeps me safe. It has gotten to the point that it doesn't really matter what goes wrong, we just accept that we are going to fix it because its worth it.

All of my friends, family, and even my mechanic know who/what I’m referring to when I say “Nova.” She has become somewhat of a staple in my young life (as weird as that sounds). As the years have passed, the miles have grown and so has the rust. It makes me very sad to think about getting rid of Nova some day, even though I know I will be getting something newer. I’m thankful to have had such a great car to carry me through high school and now through college.

Loving your car is a special experience that I hope everyone can experience at some point in their life. Taking pride in something so ordinary that you use everyday can remind us all to appreciate the little things, even if it's just a sticker on a sunroof.