This past week I found myself sitting in the lobby of Pep Boys for a few hours, waiting for my car to be serviced so I could find out why different lights had been coming on when I start my car. Planning to take a few road trips in the following weeks, I wanted to make sure my car wouldn’t quit on me as I was driving down the interstate. Forty dollars and two-and-a-half hours later, I was told that my car was fine. I was already at a car store and in need of new wipers. As I was staring at the wipers I called my dad to try to figure out what my car needed. Trying to look like I knew what I was doing, I picked up a couple different wipers and looked them over. My attempt to look like I knew what I was doing failed and a nice grandpa who worked at the store helped look up my car’s needs. One 19″ wiper and one 22″ wiper and I was headed back to campus.
My father had told me that if you purchase the wipers they would install them for you, but I was determined to install them on my own. After all, the last time my windshield wipers were replaced was when my dad and I did them in August. Once I started to attempt to take the current wipers off I remembered that this wasn’t an easy task, and then I felt really overwhelmed at the task I had just given myself.
Cold and windy, my hands were stiff and I was blindly trying to switch out the wipers. The directions on the package didn’t help and my two attempts for help were also clueless. Alas, after about 20 minutes of self-questioning and prayers that I wasn’t going to break my car, I had successfully changed my windshield wipers. To some, changing your windshield wipers may be simple, but for me, it was a task! College is about learning, studies and how to be an adult. If there’s only one thing I learned in college it may be to have the mechanic install your wipers for free, but I like to think of myself as strong independent women who can do that herself.
