At Potomac, seniors get the privilege of parking on campus. Everyone else has to take the bus (or walk) while seniors get to drive their cars on campus every day. This is a great idea, as it prepares Potomac’s oldest students for life after high school in the dangerous and scary world of parking lots and aggressive drivers. Having confidence in your parking (however bad it is) will support future Potomac alumni. The real world has plenty of places where having experience in privileged parking will help.
Grocery parking lots, for example, are some of the most dangerous places early parkers face. Without the skill of boxing out your fellow shoppers for a spot, you would need to bring two people for grocery pickup: one to slowly drive around the parking lot in a circle with the trunk open so the second person can load the groceries in the car. That’s just not efficient.
In the Potomac lot, even if you know Jim has to carry in his 3-foot architecture project, you will need to put your emotions aside and take that spot. Just like when you’re at the mall and see that one amazing parking spot, but then realize it is a handicapped spot? The skill of asserting yourself and taking that spot even though you just came from a 5K is one that you will need throughout your life. Even when your kids give up and finally put you in a home, when they visit once a month, empower them to park in the best parking spot in the lot; exercise is good for older people!
Teslas are the future, at least according to Shell Gas Company’s favorite person, Elon Musk. If you ever want to be worthy of driving a Tesla, you need to know how to pull into a super deluxe Tesla Charging Parking Spot at the gas station or mall parking lot. Without knowing how to park properly between the charging ports or specialized parking, people would spend thousands of dollars on a car that they can only use until the battery runs out. Luckily, many Potomac students have experience driving luxurious vehicles, even before they have experience on a highway.
Some companies have executive parking lots for their big cheeses, with heated sidewalks and covered parking. The downside is that they’re disappointed in the parking situation everywhere else they go. Similarly, by giving seniors their own parking lot, Potomac is nurturing the next generation of college students to be thoroughly disappointed to rediscover the joys of being a freshman. But, it is the circle of life, moving through life’s stages. It’s kind of poetic. Well done, Potomac.
Potomac is a great school for academics; however, after seeing the senior lot, the administrators removed that stop from the tour. I applaud our seniors, though; they don’t let lines define them or their parking. They are breaking down the barriers of social norms by parking on the teachers’ side. They see the line but dare to be different and cross the way.
However, Potomac is focusing on the wrong thing because more important than your academic success is your ability to park, which, despite months of practice, is just as bad as it was when seniors got their permits two years ago. Potomac teaches its students so many valuable lessons, parking being just one of them. I hope the Class of 2025 and all future graduates leave Potomac feeling fulfilled in their academics and, more importantly, in their ability to occupy a parking spot. So, seniors, leave this place feeling empowered and ready for all of life’s parking challenges.
