I find it amusing whenever people tease me because I do not drive. These are probably the same individuals who speed in the parking lot, and are the morons who make eye contact with you as you are crossing the street, but still race past you. Don’t get me wrong, I admire their willingness to express how cool they are for always being invited to parties and always being asked to go various places. However, the reality is, they drive their mom’s old minivan which can seat eight people comfortably. I am not saying this is something to be embarrassed about, but essentially, they are Uber drivers (minus the pay) or what I like to call the “soccer mom’s” of college. Their lives revolve around shuttling people to and from various places at all hours of the day. Having a car in college is like pulling out a piece of gum from your backpack in the middle of class. Once someone sees that you have one, suddenly the whole class wants a piece. Once someone knows you have a car, you better be ready to give rides to everyone. For this reason, I can honestly say I do not envy you.
While they are stressing over how to pay for gas, or for that speeding ticket, I can spend my money on more important things. Sushi night with friends, trips to San Francisco, and countless day passes to hiking places are just a few of the rewards when you don’t have a $250 speeding ticket to pay off. Now, many people may be asking themselves “well how do you get to these places?”. While some of you should consider becoming a legitimate Uber so you can get paid to shuttle people around; occasionally, my friends and I will take a real one. Every college student needs to experience at least one Uber ride in their lifetime. Nothing beats squishing in the dingy backseat of a car, with a driver who causes you look at your friends and question if it was smart to get into the car. They are the kind of drivers that you think you have heard about on Dateline, but upon talking to them turn out to be interesting people. They give unsolicited advice and share various stories regarding the places they have been and some of the weird clients they have seen. Nonetheless, they get you to your desired destination and that car ride is an interesting conversation starter for the evening.
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I know this might come as a shock to some people, but we also have two legs and a neat mode of transportation called a bike! Crazy, I know! Nothing compares to the wind in your hair and the warm sun beaming on your face as you are biking around with your friends. However, my friends and I opt for walking most of the time since it is the easiest way to chat as we go. I will never forget the night my friends and I decided to walk to a party instead of taking an Uber. The party was in a neighborhood across the street from our school so we figured it was not too far of a walk.I will never forget walking across the street, there was a chill in the air that made our faces feel like they were going to freeze off. I remember looking to my right and seeing my friend trying to run across the street and falling. I then glanced over to my left and saw my other friends illuminated by the street light. They were huddled together as they were laughing and shouting "we are never going to get there!". It took us longer than it should have to get there because we underestimated the distance of the house we were going to. Nonetheless, we arrived at the party and left after an embarrassingly short amount of time. The journey back to campus was just as fun as the one we took to get there. We all came to a consensus that the party was terrible, but the highlight of our night was the journey there and back.
While having a car in college is something that would be convenient and fun, a lot of the time the true fun is figuring out how to get where you want to go. Even though the party ended up being a bust, our greatest memories from that night are the ones from us walking there. All of the laughs, weird Uber drivers, bike rides in the rain, and walks in the freezing cold are experiences I would not change. Having a car might be convenient, but it does not compare to the random adventures that are created from not having one.
