Me and my friends love carpooling, especially when we can hangout in our cars before school
Carpooling is a fun and sustainable alternative to driving alone
Students at FHC find an array of issues with their own cars; from broken mirrors to faulty engines, senior Frankie Sutton acquired hers in an interesting way.
“I honestly don’t know [why it happened]. I was on Cascade Road, and I was at the red light. A motorcycle man came up on my right side and punched [my car]. I didn’t think I did anything wrong, but I must have. It was scary, I didn’t know if he was gonna attack me or something.”
Frankie drives a 2014 Ford Edge, and other than this unfortunate scenario, she finds her car troubles pretty minor.
For the students of FHC fortunate enough to drive themselves to school each morning, when entering the student lot, it is filled with an interesting variety of vehicles. The brands range, and, rather obviously, some stick apart from the rest. Spanning from brand new 2022 cars to cars similar to that of my 2008 Nissan Rogue, an impressive amount of kids find themselves driving to school each day.
It’s interesting listening to the students of FHC discuss their cars. Of course, my cries of complaints are not absent—I do a profound deal of whining about my passenger door that doesn’t open from the outside—but many students find issues with their cars, like Frankie. Nonetheless, many of the students just find themselves fortunate enough to have their own car. Having your own car poses a multitude of benefits.
“I have my own car and I always have access to it,” junior Sloane Corey said, “so, I can always go places unless it’s broken or something. It’s nice having my own because it’s always there when I need it and no one else is using my gas.”
For a lot of students, however, the convenience of having a car to themselves isn’t the best part of getting their license, it’s being able to drive with friends.
“I like carpooling so I don’t have to drive,” sophomore Quinn Breslin said. “I get stressed driving and don’t like wasting gas, so it’s nice when we take turns so I don’t have to drive all the time.”
Aside from escaping the threateningly high gas prices, carpooling is beneficial for a lot of reasons.
“Some of my friends scare me,” Sloane said, “but I like driving with them because then we can talk about the event and mentally prepare together. It’s always fun to sing and talk on the way there, and debrief things that happen on the way back.”
Frankie felt similarly and said, “It’s more fun because you can have conversations and sing and get ready for your event,” Frankie then tagged on, “and you don’t have to think about wasting your own gas money.”
For many, the main issue with gas is its price tag, but Quinn recognized it in a different sense.
“[Carpooling] helps save gas,” Quinn said, “I feel like it’s a lot better for the environment because less of us have to drive. It’s also a lot more fun showing up with friends.”
Obviously, gas is a pressing issue for students. Pricing and economically it’s definitely a stressor for many right now, but the environmental impacts our consumption of gas has is important.
As I am sure many of you know, carbon emissions released from cars are the main threat they pose to the environment. A simple, yet effective way to solve such a problem? Carpooling.
Transportation doesn’t have a simple solution. Public transportation may be better for the environment, but not everyone has access to it. Along with that, it is unrealistic to think everyone could be convinced to give up their personal transportation. However, asking people to carpool when the option is available isn’t unreasonable.
My challenge for the day in keeping with my series week is carpooling—to sports practice, to school, any chance you can. Like many students above, it is more fun arriving with friends, and it is sustainable.
Today’s challenge is simple, and I hope FHC can give up this simple privilege many of us overlook.