Rising Gas Prices
When I was 16 years old, I experienced a lot of firsts: My first job, my first car, my first time being in a club, etc. The first time I bought my own gas was among that long list of firsts. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, looking back at that moment now, with the rising gas prices of the two-and-a-half years, has taught me a new perspective on how to look at the world.
Gas prices have been the talk of many blog posts, political commentators, and news reporters for a while now. After the large drop off during the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic due to everyone being stuck at home, it was expected that as society got up and running again and more and more people started driving back and forth from work, the price of gas would rise. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone expected prices to grow as much as they did. Throughout the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021, the rising prices of gas subtly and steadily continued to grow with the average cost of gas at the beginning of 2022 being around $3.46 / gallon, according to gasbuddy.com. Speaking from personal experience, stress among the lower and middle classes grew just as much.
However, around the beginning of March 2022, something major changed. Using the graph below, you can see just how crazy the jump was, with the record-breaking $4.11/gallon national average hitting on March 7th, 2022, according to gasbuddy.com. Sadly, it didn’t stop there. Prices just kept growing. Every week, the simple task of driving to work or the grocery store seemed to deal a greater hit to both my wallet and my mental health. The growing fear of not being able to make enough to offset the damage was never-ending. For lots of people, going for a drive aimlessly is a great way to deal with overwhelming stress, but this seems no longer attainable right now.
Source: AAA (GasPrices.AAA.com)
Earlier today, on my way home from my early morning gym workout, I noticed my gas tank was low. And so, I pulled up to the nearest gas station to resolve this issue. As I watched the price hit “$50” once again began throwing me into the spiral. “I don’t have enough money right now,” “I’m not going to be able to pay my bills on time,” “I guess I’m eating a lot of ramen this week,” etc.
(the price of Gas: $50.08 for 13.53 Gallons)
($50.08 / 13.53 Gallons of Gas)
At that moment, I began to flashback to my teenage years when my dad showed me how to fill up my “new” car with a fresh tank of gas. It was about 2 days after I bought my first car. He took me to the pump and showed me the process of unscrewing the gas cap and selecting the type of gas I needed. (It is worth noting: To this day, I still have no idea what the three different options for gas are. I just always choose the cheapest one, and that seems to have worked so far. If you know what the other types of gas do, please tell me in the comments. I would love to know.) *POP* The tank was full. Instantly, I was jaw-dropped at the price. $25 for a full tank. I remember having a long conversation with my dad the entire way home about how ridiculous the prices were. I mean, I only made $10 per week at my job, so that was 2.5 hours of work. How does anyone afford anything? Little did I know just 4 short years away, I would be paying nearly double that every week. Then comes the prices of groceries, rent, utilities, insurance, etc. Money, money, money, money, money. Financially speaking, I had no idea how easy I had it.
All of this to say: It’s so easy to get caught in the storm of ever-growing anxieties, but though things might be crazy now, you never know how much worse something can get. Something like paying $25 per week for gas may seem absolutely ridiculous now, but the price could suddenly jump 3 years from now. Usually, our initial reaction is to try to avoid the bad thoughts and look on the bright side. While I could never undersell the importance of looking for the good things you have during rough times, one thing I’ve recently learned is that it is equally as important to be grateful for the bad things that happen because things could always be worse. When you are spiraling around in that hurricane of thoughts in your brain, try to imagine all of the ways that things could be worse for you, and take gratitude that those aren’t happening right now. I might be struggling to pay these ridiculous prices, but I could be dealing with rising prices of everything, and suddenly lose my job. At the very least, I’m grateful to still be alive today and have internet access to write this blog right now.
If you only remember one thing from this post, here’s what I want you to remember: You will find that, even in the midst of absolute chaos and uncertainty, there is still a lot to be grateful for.
Sources:
AAA Gas Prices (GasPrices.AAA.com)
2020 Year in Review: A Look Back at a Historical Year for Gas Prices (gasbuddy.com)
