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Tyler Farrell

Prof Pettay

ENG 111

19 September 2023

Friendly neighboorhood mechanic

The carpet was moldy, water would pool on the floor, the locks on the doors were rusty, the

plastic trim pieces for the soft top were broken off, and worst of all the speakers were completely

destroyed. On my car, a 1998 Chevy Tracker, there was a list of interior issues that I needed to fix. My

dream of driving my own car was the only thing that drove me to start this project. I started with making

the list of parts I needed. This included ruby red carpet, aluminum trim pieces, and a new sound system

all totalling over twelve hundred dollars. I did hours of research and planning to figure out how much I

needed and how much my pay would be after taxes. A week later, my first paycheck came and I had my

first life lesson to learn as a young adult, taxes are bottom line killers. Even after working over eight hours

of overtime, I’m left with close to nothing. I was discouraged, but put more hours in at work. I was still

not expecting to make enough to buy anything, but a miracle from God himself was handed to me. My

next paycheck was a thousand dollars. With that amount I bought new carpet, a few speakers, and a can of

WD-40. Another two months of pushing my limits at work, I am able to get the rest of the sound system,

and the trim pieces. I felt a little proud of what I had accomplished. It was now time for a different kind of

labor, my most feared part of this journey, the installation. I thought I could just pay someone to do it, but

I had already spent so much and the cost was outrageous. The only alternative was to try it myself and

pray I dont mess anything up. Thankfully, a family friend was able to put the trim pieces on for me. The

rest was left up to me and although I was more faint-hearted than I had anticipated, I pushed on. I gave up

for the day with every problem I came across, but I wanted my car done. I became disappointed with

myself and started to wish I had the will to work on it. This started to show and my mother saw there was

something wrong. Without even needing an explanation, she said, “If you don’t do it son, it’s not going to
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get done.” Cliche, yes, but that was just what was needed to motivate me to start the work on my car.

Fixing the doors were, as bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman said, “lightweight baby!” Finishing that gave me

such a rush and sense of accomplishment that I actually yelled out for the world to hear. The adrenaline

was exactly what I needed to press on. By this time, the moon was high above me and the mosquitoes

were feasting but I was hyper focused on the remaining tasks needed to make my dream a reality. To

finish the night, I stripped the carpet and the seats out with eight mosquito bites on my ankles and legs.

The following weekend, I definitely didn’t have the will to go clean the car, but having learned what it’s

like finishing a task, I attacked it with gusto. I used scrub brushes, a concoction of soaps, a ridiculous

amount of red mechanic’s rags, and the determination of Vin Diesel fighting evil all in the name of family.

Moving methodically from the front to the back, I completed this task with the reward of another shot of

motivation to continue to the next task. I decided to install the carpet, but there was only one problem, I

have no idea how to install carpet. With a good amount of research, and my mom’s help, we got the carpet

installed. The car was looking absolutely magnificent. The final piece of the car was to install the sound

system. I had a new radio, a subwoofer, and new speakers but I decided to get that done professionally.

Finally, I get to take it on my first joy ride and it was amazing. When I started this journey, I knew what I

wanted but was not sure how to get there. Getting this car completed required research, hard work, and

newly founded self motivation. Having completed my car, I know now, any hard task that lies ahead

simply requires the same.