From a young age we are being slowly trained to do things on our own.  The real question is where does that stop? When do we stop trying to be self-sufficient?

From the standpoint of a younger person, many of us have a grasp of technology and extremely complicated processes in mathematics, science and other areas of education.  One major area that is flawed, however, is automotive knowledge.

Many people from ages 16-25 do not do maintenance on their own vehicles.  With so much knowledge and ability in young eager minds, how do we fall so short on some of the most basic processes, among them simply changing a tire.

Mr. Terry Craven, a car mechanic who has built two street rods and is currently on a third, put in his two cents.  He said, “You can’t always rely on someone (else) because one day someone will be relying on you.”

If people learn basic knowledge of areas such as car repair and finances, life would be easier.  In high school, students learn calculus, biology, art, and other subjects.  What many don’t learn are the basics needed in day-to-day life. 

I asked Craven how he came to rely on himself, and the answer I got did not surprise me.  He told me his father helped him into his self-sufficient ways. His knowledge of gardening, automobiles, carpentry, plumbing and other repair skills has saved him thousands of dollars on things that most people would hire someone else to do.

There are ways to become more self-sufficient in areas such as car repair.  High schools should take the lead by providing classes in basic repair skills, but if not, you may be able to take classes in your community.  There are some students who must start helping support a household at a young age, and those skills would help.

While car repair knowledge does not help the profit of companies that repair vehicles, there will always be some damages and problems with cars you just can’t do yourself. Auto body shops have specific tools for cars that are hard to find in stores or online.

In my 18 years, life has slowly become more and more chaotic. It’s hard to find time to do repairs to my own automobile, so I asked Craven the question, “Do you think that people being less self-sufficient is because everybody is always busy or because we truly don’t know what to do.”

He smiled and said, “Well, it’s a combination of both. Everybody is running around so much that they don’t have time to go back, sit down, and focus on how to fix their car.”

Learning to change a tire is a start.