When I turned 16, I had to go and get my drivers license, and after I did I drove around in my parents car for a year before I saved up enough money to finally buy my own vehicle, and when I did, I never realized the connection you have with your first car.
I often imagined of winning the lottery and would dream about all the stuff I would buy, but for some reason, a new car was not part of that dream, and instead of a new vehicle I often thought of how I would fix up the one I had.
For the longest time I thought I was going to keep my very first car for the rest of my life. (Thank god I grew out of that phase) My first car was a Hyundai Pony and it died a few months after I had it. In my infinite wisdom I decided that I should buy another Hyundai pony, and I searched around until I found one. Stupidity strikes three times, because after that one died as well, I bought yet a third one. Young and dumb.
I finally relinquished my love for the pony, and stared trying different vehicles. After those first few years of hanging on to something that was familiar then finally trying something new, was an eye opening experience indeed.
It taught me that the car was just a thing, a tool to get me to and from a location, a way to go on a date in private, and it had a certain social status. Mine was "totally average guy" who had his own vehicle, even though it was a hunk of junk.
There is no reason to get sentimental with something that can and will get replaced, and these days if my vehicle starts giving me problems, I have no issues trading it in for a different one. I need reliability more than prettiness or social status. It takes a while but eventually life teaches you a lesson that no one else could ever teach you.
Scott Goerz
