I hate stepping into a days-old McDonald’s bag filled with lunch trash and ants. I also suppose most students who drive or own a license don’t enjoy the unpleasant crunch and slight squish of garbage underfoot.
Our school’s parking lot on a fine September morning had an unbelievable amount of stuff floating around. Crows scavenge plastic bags and cups roll over the crisp concrete. It’s disgusting and, even in the fourth week of school, quite impressive for this year.
I have been driving myself to school since the end of my sophomore year and was given a ride from my brother from the start of my eighth grade year until he graduated in 2022. It’s safe to say I am familiar with the way students drive at the end of the day.
During that time, I discovered a few unspoken rules that everyone, at some point, follows. Yes, one includes the parking lot as a designated landfill. The birds will take care of it, so you don’t think; just pour that energy drink out onto the ground.
Seriously, please do not just forget about trash. Take it with you or find a trash can to dispose of it. This is the first step to making our parking lot more welcoming and deserving of the title of FHC student parking.
With new drivers soon to come out of this year’s sophomore class, I believe it’s time to organize all of our etiquette regulations into complete sentences. Those who passed from last year to many years before all contribute to this mindset.
First, if a you want to get a good parking spot, be prepared to arrive early. I have witnessed my friends wake up late and take a spot far from the building too many times. They then have to run across the rainy cement just to reach their vehicle at the end of the day.
Nothing beats getting a spot dead front and center and driving off before the traffic starts.
That leads to the next thing: Everyone and their mother wants to leave.
I promise this: A rush leads to stupidity and carelessness, and that results in cars flipped on their roofs. No one who has to stay wants to go home or to work. Some students may believe that speeding down the lot—oblivious to the many pedestrians—to the main road will be the most efficient.
I find that the students who walk to the farther parking spots seem to be very ignorant and nonchalant. They subconsciously choose to walk right down the middle.
Rushing cars and crowds of people do not mix, but, fortunately, we have yet to see a problem. Yet, we students are prone to high levels of intense emotion. When others walk in front of moving vehicles, drivers sound their horns, causing even more chaos.
Drivers also unintentionally make other drivers frustrated. When cutting someone slowly like we do when pulling out, others down the road can’t fathom being behind another car. So, tailgating and certain hand signals propagate approximately around 2:48.
But, it’s not just us; all types of drivers also contribute to this mess of cars and trucks. I find the ones I come across disregard me. I’ve been cut off, not let in, and honked at just because I pull out.
I’ve witnessed guardians stopping mid-flow of traffic so their kids can jump in the back seat at the speed of a slug.
When exiting at the end of the day, all should aim to follow traffic rules such as having the right of way but also giving others the chance to join the flow. If let into the line, do the next car a favor and wave them over to drive in front of you. Stop at stop signs, and be patient with all pedestrians who walk on the road.
Try to be as efficient and careful as possible. Drivers’ training always says to have your head on a swivel so that you know every single detail around you. Commit to turns, and don’t break last second.
Another thing that challenges all people is when the winter arrives. Lines are blurred beneath snow, and ice plagues the many potholes. When we can’t see the yellow, we tend to create our own.
With limited parking, rows and rows of cars avoid each other while trying to stay on target and end up filling needed space for all drivers to park. The snow prevents efficiency, so that’s how we see @fhcworstparking’s best posts come to life.
Students should not be pressured when picking a spot and instead should take their time maneuvering around in the snow to finally hit the perfect spot. No judging is required; the less space taken up will overall benefit the janky parking lines.
All this being said, all of us on the roads are still learning to drive. Years of experience to only two years or less means mistakes will be made. The school is creating bad habits that, fortunately, have yet to produce terrible accidents that harm someone badly.
We need to be patient and have to try to be civil drivers when it comes down to it. We all love freedom, but when it’s so easy to get frustrated like I see so many students get, something needs to change.
So, let’s all make an effort to save our student parking lot from becoming the survival ring that it is and commit to streamlining the traffic and getting us all home safe—and fast.
