When I got my car, I was prepared to show up on the first day, get my permit, and cruise through the rest of the year. I, however, was living in a dream. It took me eight school days to get a $45 permit, and then another two days and $40 for a spot to park my car. That’s $85 just to drive my car to school and have a place to leave it.

There’s no anger towards the people in charge, but it took entirely too long to get the parking permit. When buying a parking permit, you need three things present: a driver’s license, insurance, and the permit form. Even with such a simple system, I was rejected for a week because I didn’t have the “right” things. My insurance was in my name, my drivers license was clearly me, and my form was complete, yet I was not given my parking permit till the Thursday of the second week of school. That’s eight consecutive days of worrying about whether or not I will be fined or towed for parking in the lot.

After that was settled, I was ready to pay a small fee to buy my parking spot and then be set for the year. What I didn’t expect was to go bankrupt because the parking spot was another $40. Initially, I was enraged, but then I learned that Senior Class Officers worked very hard to get that price down from previous years, so I calmed myself. At least I didn’t have to pay as much as the previous seniors.

It is now the fourth week of school and I haven’t gone off campus for lunch once because I spent all of my summer money on a parking permit, a parking spot, and gas. It turns out that bringing your car to school is more of a nuisance than a luxury. James Bowie did not die for this.