Ever since I was a freshman in college, I have nagged my parents into allowing me to bring one of our cars from back home to campus. Just by walking on campus grounds, I envied the students who had the freedom and independence to drive anywhere they wanted at any time. I imagined it being such a stress reliever and I always felt I was ready to take on this responsibility. Boy, was I wrong.
Now that I am a senior in college, my mother finally agreed to let me take our Toyota Rav4 to school. The day I left for school, I was so ecstatic and grateful that I was given this opportunity. Slowly but surely, I started to realize that I am basically filling up my gas tank every week which amounts to at least $30 a week. At first, I was lenient about this expense and did not think much of it, but being that since my first paycheck for my campus job won’t come in until a month from now, it is starting to eat away at my bank account. Unfortunately, I just have to accept it and move on.
My parents had this car for several years, and they did not keep up with getting the interior of the car cleaned. Keeping that in mind, I went to the farmer’s market the other day and accidently spilled apple cider all over the front seat. My car smells like rotten apples now and has a very potent smell to it. As a result, I started getting fruit flies in my car and they do not seem to be going away. So, without getting the interior cleaned for years and spilling apple cider all over my car, I decided it was time to get my car cleaned up.
On September 8th, I went to Absolute Car and Wash in Baldwinsville, and they shampooed the carpets and seats and vacuumed the interior. I thought that would immediately resolve the whole fruit fly situation, but it didn’t! Since my dad is an exterminator, I asked him the best way to rectify the situation. He explained to me that I should put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and basically disinfect my whole car. I will see if that works, but if it does not, I do not know what else to do. Here I was thinking that having a car would be all fine and dandy, but it is turning into a big headache.
Even with these issues, there are obvious benefits of having a car on campus, which include being able to drive to see my friend in Syracuse, driving to Walmart whenever I need to, or just taking a drive to clear my head at any time. Although it may not seem like it, the pros outweigh the cons. At least I do not feel like I am stuck in my room all the time or always having to ask a friend to drive me places.