By: Sage Hansard, Talon Staff | Opinion

I was never good at playing musical chairs in grade school and every morning for the first few weeks of school seems to be an adult version of such, but with 2-ton motors vehicles.

A new semester at Tallahassee Community College is upon us. Whether this is your first semester or your last, we are all left exploring the campus grounds in search of our new classes, our purpose in life and, most likely, an ever evasive parking spot.

Add the echoes of a care-free summer still resonating soundly in my ears, fighting for parking spots with crusty eyes and a Nike ball cap to cover up the bed head do not seem like an ideal breakfast. So now with a few cups of coffee, a nice warm shower, a sun that’s a few degrees past its apex and an actual breakfast, I wonder, “What is the best option for parking at TCC each morning? If there is one.”

Granted, from prior experience, parking availability will eventually increase as Tallahassee’s social life claims a few students as victims. But regardless, there are really only two options for parking at TCC; the normal student parking that envelopes most of the campus and the parking garage that’s tucked away in the furthest northwest side of campus.

Students like Marcus Butler, a sophomore at TCC, prefer the parking garage.

“During prime student hours, parking is hectic,” said Butler. “But I prefer the parking garage because it keeps your car cool from the sun and there is always space in the garage when you are in a hurry.”

But I feel the parking lot to be the best option. To fight through the traffic on the limited roadways that lead to the parking garage on the secluded portion of campus where the garage claims residence, takes awhile. There are also many stop signs and hundreds of students unconsciously wandering into the street, most likely glued to their phones or wiping the crust from their eyes like myself. It’s like trying to get through the parking lot at Publix the day before Thanksgiving.

And the time spent trying to maneuver through those obstacles could be spent strategically circling the normal parking lot, as many students are leaving their spots after class and you arrive with a new wave of students. But I am also stubborn and trying to strategically snag a TCC parking spot instead of taking an open spot in the parking garage may be why I am frustrated.

Sometimes taking the open chair on the far northwest side of campus instead of fighting over ones already occupied is why I was always bad at musical chairs.

 Sage Hansard, Talon Staff

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