Wifi. Friends you can actually bear to listen to for more than two hours. Decent hangover snacks and of course, excessive amounts of pasta: we all know what it takes to get through your average student day, but let's think smaller (it sometimes IS better you guys) and more specific here, you guys. Your car, aka, basically the only thing that you can actually call your own. What with all of the running around like a mad thing and living on various couches four nights a week, the going can sometimes get tough. So I've devised a somewhat ingenious way and means for you to live carefree and still look as though you've somewhat got your shit together.
From having some general cop on and having tyre gear lying about the place, to throwing some hunger abating snacks into the back, College Times in conjunction with the RSA have got you covered. Here are some absolute essentials every student needs in their car:
1) A selection of snacks.
'Hanger' is a very real and dangerous thing and I have been told numerous times over the past little while that I suffer from it on a very new and terrifying level. Don't be me here guys, be smart instead. Load up that glove box with enough snacks to feed the entirety of Galway and you're set for whatever hangover or long journey comes your way.
2) Toe tapping tuneage.
There's nothing to complete a car journey quite like a few sick beats on your tinny little sound system. A bit of Rihanna and you're flying (not literally). Whether it's a CD mixtape circa 2004 (how very vintage of you) or some Spotify via your fancy new radio connection, anything will do pretty much the same job here, the most important thing is just getting the stereo going and your awful voice singing.
3) A spare tyre, obviously.
Not to worry all, I have plenty of those: 'lawls'. No seriously though, having a spare tyre in the health sense may not be the most beneficial for your overall health and whatnot, but when it comes to the day to day grind and your car and everything, a spare tyre is a real essential, so don't be an idiot, clean out your boot, dump those 900 bags for life and make sure your tyre is ready to rock and roll (see what I did there?).
4) Some 'just in case you get lucky' essentials.
First of all, go you, isn't someone an optimistic little Ollie eh? No seriously, though, what are your secrets and please teach me....Anyway, back to the case in point here. Put an overnight bag situation together, you know, spare clothes, a toothbrush, makeup wipes for the ladies....You do whatever the hell it takes to ensure that you get through the day unscathed pal. *Winky face*
5) A portable phone charger.
Story of your life, you set off on a long and adventure-laden car journey, only to discover that your phone is essentially knock knock knockin' on heaven's door, twenty kilometers in. For the love of all that is holy people, get yourself a portable charger, you know, those sneaky little devils you can plug into your cigarette lighter and before you know it, you'll be juiced up and ready to take on the world.
6) A 'screw this, I'm going out tonight' kit.
Those are the best nights of all, I reckon. Forget the ones you've been planning for six months straight, forget all of that careful coordination and outfit matching and mixer buying and instead, cherish the nights where you throw caution and indeed, everything else to the wind and go mad because they're the one's that'll stick in your mind for years to come. Anyway, with spontaneity comes prep (go with it), so guys, throw a shirt and some spare aftershave in your backseat and ladies, a dress and some lippy doesn't take up much room but makes an ocean of difference. Selfie time?
7) A tread depth gauge for your tyres.
Not as expensive (free actually, just saying) as your lippy, but having a thread depth gauge (it's literally just a card so don't worry about cluttering up your previous pimp mobile), is invaluable and did I bloody mention that it's free? Worn tyres can quite literally be fatal so cop on and check them immediately. See the RSA website for more information on how to get your own one.
8) The user manual for your car (you know, the thing most of us have in our glove box)...
Yeah, so it's not exactly light and easy breezy reading, I'll admit, but it can be invaluable when it comes to knowing and understand the very ins and outs of your car and what to do when things basically just go to shit, you feel me? Go on, have a root through your clutter packed glove box today and attempt to source your little path to wisdom (I'm almost certain that that's possible)....
9) Some accessories, purely to pimp your ride.
What better way to make a glam worthy appearance than to arrive in a fluffy steering wheel with some crazy dice dancing from your rear view mirror? Look, let's face it, most of us spend very little time on sprucing our cars up, so by adding a little personality, a little za za zoooooom of sorts, you're a lot less likely to be bored off your palm tree at the very thoughts of sitting in behind that wheel. *Bling bling*
10) A sleeping bag.
Hear me out matie. I'm not actively suggesting that you set up camp in the nearest car park or anything, what I mean here is that as a student, random nights (see point 6) occur pretty regularly and you just may arrive unprepared and thus, you will be forced to occupy whatever one by one meter square patch of floor you've been granted and so, by the grace of god, having a sleeping bag that you can call your own and that, somehow, doesn't smell like your Granny's house, can truly make a whole world of a difference. Sleep well my pretty. <3
11) Multiple umbrellas because, well, obviously.
We live in a literal real world Triton shower here folks, I don't think you need me to advise you any further on this one. Stack them the hell up, go to Penneys, buy one in every colour, arrange them via barcodes, do whatever you want really, because you need many and your car is the ideal place in which to store them. Rain rain go away please, thanks hun.
12) And mountains of blankets just couldn't be more necessary.
Most of you poor students probably tend to drive around in teeny, tiny shoebox-sized rusting crap heaps with a serious lack of air conditioning (notions) and a tendency for the windows to leak during shower storms meaning that winter (or realistically, 10 months of the year) are likely to be a little uncomfortable for you, so I'm strongly advising you to stock your little shoebox to the brim with warm blankets and every hoodie you've stolen over the past year and to shove them all in there, you'll thank me yet, I promise.
For more information on tyres and overall tyre safety, see the RSA website.
