“Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long. If you’re going my way, I wanna drive it all night long…” Any teenage driver preparing to head out into the “big bad world” can relate to this popular Rascal Flatts song. It is reminder that wei that we will soon get lost and then find ourselves, learn to swerve when life throws us curves, and still discover new things along the way, just as you would barreling down an unfamiliar highway. Your first car isn’t just a set of wheels, metal parts, and an odometer; it is the first breath of real freedom and the car that will carry you through the first few years of our adult life.
 Just like many teenagers, junior Lyssie Parkhurst inherited one of her parent’s cars, but her shiny blue 2003 Honda Pilot is anything but a clunker. “My car makes me look sporty because it’s an SUV, has a silver tint in the color (making it flashy), and a bike rack on the back,” Parkhurst says.
 Senior Richard Le bought his 2004 Honda Accord with money he’d been saving for years. He wants to make his plain-looking sedan look original and so far has added blue LED lights, but he plans to add many more amenities once he gets the money to do so. He says that he will “then definitely be proud to show it off and drive with the windows down so everyone can see me.”
 Some families make car-owning a tradition. Junior Michael Bryan is proud to say that his 2002 Pontiac Firebird Formula is “a classic American muscle car. It can really fly, and I think it sounds great. My Dad’s first car was also a [1972] Firebird.”
 Everyone who drives through the Paint Branch lot notices the oversized American trucks parked in a short, side-by-side row. Driven by senior close friends Max Colton, Todd Shultz, and Jake Bradshaw, these trucks are known for their rugged appeal and hefty size -- and the grill that the boys got in trouble for barbequing chicken on during the first week of school. While they all agree that the always-rising price of gas and diesel takes a toll on their wallets, they agree that the all-terrain and four-wheel drive capabilities are totally worth it. “It’s so big and rough that it can drive through just about anything,” bragged Shultz.
 Other students are just happy to have something to drive. Junior Chelsey Conrad’s 1991 Ford pick-up is older than she is and admits that her favorite feature is the fact that the old, stick-shift truck still runs. “It’s a beat-up hand-me-down and makes really loud noises when it runs, but I think it makes me look sweet,” she laughs. “I don’t mind driving it; at least I have something to drive!”
 While to many teenagers, owning a car an important right of passage, other students seem to be able to get by without their own transportation. “Most of my friends have cars and are willing to drive me around,” senior Michelle Ferguson explains. “I would much rather save my money and just wait to get a better car.”
The cost of owning a car as a teenager seems to continuously skyrocket, especially since few high-school students make more than minimum wage. Gas prices seem to be averaging around $2.75 a gallon, causing car-owners to fork over about twenty-five bucks each fill-up, depending on the size and tank of their vehicle. “My parents make me pay for just about everything except the car itself (2007 Chevy Cobalt),” senior Taylor Collignon complains. “I’ve had a job for more than a year, but between gas, insurance, and having a life, I’m usually broke.”
 While many parents force their teens to learn the responsibility of owning a car, others opt to make compromises. Senior Brooke Hackney’s mother bought her a pearly white 2005 BMW X3 Sport, perhaps one of the fanciest cars in both the student and staff parking lot. However, her mother stipulated that Hackney must pay for her own gas and keep up with her schoolwork. “I think other people think I’m spoiled because I have such a nice car, but I really do struggle keeping gas in my SUV,” Hackney says.
 According to Edmunds, a popular car-reviewing website, the average insurance premium for a teenage driver is about two thousand dollars a year but can run as high as thirty-five hundred. Many students keep these prices low by driving a practical car, keeping above a “B” average, and being a safe driver. Many insurance companies have “Good Student” and “Good Driver” discounts to lower premiums, some by as much as twenty-five percent. “I make sure to keep my grades up so that my insurance stays low. My parents save a lot of money because I try hard in school,” states senior Carol Barnes, driver of a 2005 Toyota Corolla
No matter what you’re driving, there certainly is nothing better than rolling down the windows of your car, blasting your favorite song on the radio, and enjoying the beginning of the next chapter of your life alongside a few good friends. After all, “half the fun is getting there.”