How Many Honors Students Does It Take to Change a Flat Tire?

I’m sure that the purpose of these “learning experience” blogs is not to write about the stuff I’m learning in everyday life, but an unconventional person like myself tends to take the unconventional route and stretch the prompt to make it fit what I want to write about. I am learning so much in class but the truly interesting things are what is happening to me in the time outside of school; these are the things I want to share.

Although depressing, what I am about to tell you is true: the last “good day” I can honestly say I had was last Wednesday. The days that followed were full of spilled coffee and ruined clothes, and that’s not even the worst part. The past week has truly been a testament to the perseverance of my roommates and myself. But before I get ahead of myself, let me rewind to last Thursday night so you can understand the week that I’ve had.

I live in a cute house on Forest Park Boulevard, dubbed by my roommates as “The Nest.” I live with three other girls. We’ll call them L, C, and M for the purposes of this blog post. L, C, and myself are very similar people: introverted in nature and self-sufficient. M is the polar opposite. L and C and I are best friends, and M’s personality just doesn’t seem to mesh with ours. Long story short, L, C, and I had talked it over and decided that in order to salvage our friendship and make the most out of our living situation for our remaining time at TCU, something needed to change. We sat down under the assumption that we could discuss where each of us were falling short as roommates and what we could do to improve the relations of the residents of The Nest. As to not disclose too much personal information, the conversation did not go swimmingly and M decided she was going to transfer to UCLA at semester. Well…. Alright.

I don’t know if I believe in karma, but the days that followed are almost enough for me to change my mind.

Friday began as a day like any other: I went to my two classes and went to Chik-fil-a with my little for Go Purple Fridays. It was pouring down rain outside so I returned home to curl up in bed and watch Downton Abbey on Netflix all day. But that was not to be the case. Thirty minutes after I had gotten home, my phone rang. It was L. She proceeded to tell me that her and C had been in a car wreck on the way home from class and they needed me to come for moral support. Easy enough. Upon arriving, I found C’s front bumper lying in the middle of the road, TCU police on the scene, and C’s phone no longer functioning due to water damage. Though shaken up, we thought we would be able to enjoy the rest our weekend… Right? Wrong.

Saturday was the day of our sorority’s Victory formal, a day for celebration and relaxation, right? Once again, wrong. I awoke with a strong craving for Starbucks, so L and I hopped in the car to get our Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Our jovial attitudes were not to last long, however. A speed bump, spilled coffee, and my eyes off the road for two seconds soon led to the Kanye West playing on my speakers being drowned out by the heartbreaking sound of air draining out of my front passenger side tire. A few teary phone calls later, I finally found someone to help me: best friend Alex to the rescue!

After successfully getting the tire changed, we went home to de-stress before getting ready for our formal that night. About five minutes before we were set to leave, my date (J) calls me to tell me that he ruined his entire wardrobe in the washing machine and he had nothing to wear. At this point, I honestly didn’t know if it could get any worse.

And that’s when it hit me.

It could be worse. This bout with bad luck shouldn’t be looked at as the world attacking me; this bout with bad luck should be viewed as lessons for the future. So if you’re wondering what I learned through potentially the worst weekend of my life, look no further:
1.     Sometimes, best friends don’t make the best roommates. Don’t lose a friend over a rough conversation and a horrendous semester of cohabitation.
2.     Though I may have lost one friendship from the conversation, I still have two really awesome friends that I can be thankful for.

3.     Cars are fixable; lives are not replaceable. We should be thankful that the only things damaged were the front bumper of a Range Rover and my flat tire.
4.     Freshman dorms have the worst washing machines. Additionally, boys should never be allowed to wash nice things.
5.     And lastly, the answer to the question that you’ve probably been pondering the entire blog post: It takes three Honors students and C’s extended family to change a flat tire on my car.

PS - J found some clothes and we made it to formal.