My car is one of my favorite spaces. I got my first car during my senior year of high school and was over the moon to decorate it and make it a comfortable space. When I was younger, my biggest wish was to someday get my license and drive around listening to music, so to be able to have a car that would allow me that freedom rather than sharing with my mom and dad, was a privilege and a dream come true.
Darla T.T. is a Black 2014 Ford Escape who has a wonderful 118,108 miles and has survived one deer attack. The name Darla was my original name for the car since it was a shortened form of darling in my head, and I felt it suited the older car. T.T. was a part of the name my dad tacked on after he filled my tank because it was near empty, and he had taken my car to take our dog to a local trail; T.T stands for “tiny tank”. My dad is used to filling up his car, which takes a significant amount of gas in comparison to my car’s ten-to-eleven-gallon tank, and the addition seemed to suit the car and was nice to tack onto after Darla.Â
Darla has gone through a wide variety of decorations throughout the years. About a month after I got Darla, I was on my way to an after-school program at dusk in December when a young deer darted out in front of my car. The conclusion was unfortunately unavoidable, but luckily, Darla didn’t suffer too much on the surface. The bad news was since December of 2022 Darla T.T was in and out of the mechanic shop for basically my entire senior year. Since I hit the deer in the beginning of December, and the car couldn’t go into the shop for another month and so I was driving with a deer-damaged car. My friends found it quite amusing to gift me with the car decorations of antlers and a bright red nose, which immediately felt fitting and funny to have. It was a way for me to joke about my severe loss of my car a month after having it and to avoid blaming myself for hitting the deer.Â
Now I am the furthest person to ask when a car is having problems. My dad taught me how to check my tire pressure, oil, how to jumpstart and any other basics of car maintenance. However, I also know that a car is not supposed to shake violently and sound like a descending helicopter when you make turns. So, just as I got Darla T.T. back from the deer damage, she went back into the shop for investigation purposes. It wasn’t until just before my freshman year of college that Darla T.T. was back and better than ever. Darla had a new license plate and a new tool to be housed in the trunk of the car in case of emergencies, as well as me scrapping some temporary decorations I had placed in the car intermittently throughout Darla’s trips to the mechanic.Â
I was hopeful for a year of finally being able to decorate the car and make it my own new, comfy space as so many of my friends had done with their own cars. The only problem was I didn’t know where to start. Darla T.T.’s decorations are still a work in progress. The trunk houses a few stuffed animals, change of clothes(sweats), and a wonderful tool that puts air in my tires and can jumpstart my car. It’s perfect for emergencies and is kept pretty clean with some scrapers for ice and to brush off snow. Over the summer, I received two squishy friends who have been placed in the car as little pets. One of my most beloved features of my car is the CD player. I have gotten addicted to buying CDs of my favorite albums to play in my car as I drive around areas of towns that I’m very familiar with instead of streaming music through Bluetooth, although that is what I opt for during long car trips.Â
Darla T.T. has been through a lot and has her quirks just as any other car. For a while, she rocked an upside-down backup camera, but she gets me from point A to B, and I will be devastated when it’s her time to retire. Darla T.T. has officially passed her New York State Inspection, despite the tint on the windows being a bit questionable at times, so I can save my tears for hopefully another few years.