Julianna Mariani ‘24

Eggplant Editor

As a freshman at Holy Cross, you have to know how to take an Uber. This is something I had never done before getting to campus, but seeing as you can’t have your car with you it’s imperative you find another way of getting around. The first week of school, my roommate and I attempted to walk to Walmart, which is, theoretically, the most entertaining place within walking distance of the Hill. Theoretically being the key word there. After trekking downhill in a mix of black and brown slush, crossing train tracks and having to walk on the side of the highway, we decided we wouldn’t be doing that again. Walmart just isn’t worth our lives, no matter how good the selection of cheap clothes and half-priced Valentine’s Day candy is. From that moment forward, we had to know how to get an Uber. I must admit, even though I have the app downloaded, I have yet to actually order one myself. I consistently “let” my friends do it because something in the back of my mind tells me it’ll be my fault if a 2004 Honda Civic with its tail pipe dragging on the ground, shows up outside Figge Hall. 

Anyway, over the past few weekends I’ve had some pretty uneventful Uber rides, but last Saturday was a different story. We, and by that I mean not me, ordered an Uber to Target (Walmart’s cooler cousin). As we watched the car pull up to the curb we thought, so far so good, little did we know we were about to get a life lesson. My friend opened the door first, asking who he was picking up for. I didn’t think anything of it but our Uber driver definitely did. He decided to pick that moment, as we all piled in, to tell us we “did that wrong” and that we aren’t supposed to ask who the driver is picking up for, he’s supposed to ask us. It gets better. Turns out my friend had had this Uber driver before and he had given her the same piece of advice the last time around, one that she had obviously not taken. They proceeded to go back and forth for a bit about the right way to enter an Uber but eventually the conversation moved to broader topics. Our driver seemed to like us so he thought it an opportune time to tell us his life story. Apparently, this guy is a millionaire, if he were to liquidate all his assets of course, and he wanted to make sure we knew we could do the same. 

I got two great pieces of advice from our Uber driver that day, one: “Start putting everything into savings now, it’ll be the best part time job you’ll ever have” and “People grossly overestimate what they can do in a year but underestimate what they can do in five.” Moral of the story is: taking an Uber is consistently hit or miss, but why not take one because, who knows, you might get some great advice out of it, or just leave more confused than you were when you hopped in. 

P.S. If anyone actually knows the right way to get in an Uber, do let me know.