How Students & Faculty Commute

1976 Olds Cutlass Supreme https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en _altered w/overlays/adjustments

by Gavin Womble Cars.

We all drive them. But what does a car mean to a teenager? As a teenager, a car to me is something to have fun in and work on. Most adults seem to see their cars as only machinery to get to places as efficiently as possible, but for teens a car can serve as a means to express themselves, hang out with friends, or just a way to have fun. Most of us have walked to and from school before so when we got our cars it was a whole different experience. Cars are a necessity for most teenagers as their parents have to work early or late buses or no bus (due to bus shortage) make getting to school difficult.

At Fulton High School, there are many interesting rides that students and teachers take to school. Let’s take a glimpse at some of the many vehicles at Fulton High School.

To start with the teachers, I asked them about their first cars. Mr.Shipley’s first car was a 1994 Toyota Corolla that he got in his sophomore year of high school. He’s glad he doesn’t own it anymore as he hated it but, he said the most fun he had in the car was hitting a deer. He now owns a newer model Mustang in a bright orange that he likes a lot more.

I interviewed Mr. Graves, who had actually sold his Jeep, which was having problems (this is why you don’t buy Jeeps.) to buy his Kona e-ute bicycle. His first car was a 1960’s Ford F100 he said it was alright but it didn’t have a lot of room on the inside. He says he liked his Jeep because of the removable roof and doors mad him feel like he was out in the world more, he enjoys his bike a lot because of that. Mr. Childers went to school in a small town where he was too close to ride the bus but too far to walk and get to school on time, so he drove a car to highschool. Originally, he didn’t have his own car and drove either his mom’s station wagon or his dad’s pickup truck, which he wasn’t a big fan of either but preferred the truck. After he graduated however his parents bought him a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 2-door. Once he had gotten his car he was expected to pay for his gas and maintenance on it which he wasn’t prepared for as a high schooler. His favorite memory with his Cutlass was after he first got it he took it for a drive in the Arkansas countryside and showed it to his girlfriend. He said that day he had put 200 miles on the car. High School football was very big in his town and almost the whole town would drive there to attend. He says after the games and on week- end nights, high-schoolers would drive around and hang out at either Pizza Hut, skating rinks or bowling alleys which is where Mr Childers would go. He worked in a factory working 5 days a week 4-12 after school so when he had time, he made sure to have some fun. Going into college he had been afraid of not making friends and being alone but since he got a brand new car and the very first model year he got a lot of attention. He would often give groups rides because he thought he was apart of that group and thought they were friends but when he asked for money to pay for these rides no one ever helped and he suddenly didn’t have any real friends. So he says to be careful and be yourself.

Ms. Campbell, our design teacher, drove a 1966 Mustang when she attended Fulton. While the Mustang wasn’t her very first car, it was the one that attracted the most attention. Her first car was a 1962 Volkswagen Beetle. She had to buy all her cars with her own money and pay for the insurance, maintenance, and gasoline. Similar to Mr. Childers experience, football games were a big deal and everyone cruised Broadway after the games. Circling McDonalds, they would then head north past the Putt-Putt course to Shoney’s Drive-In. They would cruise through or stop and get a burger, fries and shake at the drive-in. This is where all the Fulton kids were hanging out. On weekends you could find most of the school at the Family Drive-In movie theatre. It was just north of Shoney’s at that time, where the Office Depot is today. drives an older

Today, Ms.

Discovery that she bought from her brother. She had always wanted one when she was younger after watching the old television shows where adventurers were driving the Defenders. She wishes she could afford one of those. The students also share some interesting cars. To start off with something less interesting, I have my 2005 Scion Tc with a manual transmission. It is a pretty simple car and is fully stock. I got mine from my uncle who gave it to me when I got my license. I don’t pay for insurance but I pay for the maintenance and gas. My favorite thing about the car is that it is a manual so it is more fun to drive. I do hang out with my friends whether it’s just driving around or going somewhere like the mall. I benefit from driving my car to school because I don’t have to wait for the bus or worry about missing the bus. If I could have any car it would be a 1975 Datsun 280sx or any BMW M3.

Chris has something a little more cool in his 1999 Ford Mustang GT. Like me he got his car sophomore year from his uncle, but his wasn’t running at the time and he was told if he could get it running he could keep it so he put a new 4.6L V8 in it and got it fully running his junior year. He does all the maintenance and pays for everything on it.

His favorite thing about his mustang is driving it as it handles nicely and has a lot of power to have fun with. He says he drives his car just about everywhere given the opportunity. He says it is a necessity for him as he wouldn’t have any other way to get to school. It also allows him to get to work and hang out with his girlfriend. When asked if he could have any car in the world, he would choose a 1994 Corvette ZR1 or a 1993 Nissan Skyline GTR.

In today’s world, cars are a necessity for almost everyone, especially with the bus driver shortage. Today’s world revolves around cars and is not that walker friendly especially in the United States with bigger and wider highways and roads being.

Cars are also becoming much larger and heavier and sit higher meaning if a pedestrian gets hit by a car today you have a much higher chance of serious injuries compared to 20 years ago. I believe the solution is motorcycles but too many people are afraid of the risk. Whether you’re a student or teacher you most likely do not walk to school. One thing in common with everyone is that as a high schooler, we all benefited from having a car and have had at least one fond memory of their first vehicle.