My dream car is not a sports car, or even a nice crossover; it is a minivan. I want one with eight seats, automatic sliding doors and little slide-up window shades. My mom often tells me about how she dreaded the day my dad would invest in a family minivan. I dream of it. 
I recently had to swap cars with my family until fall break because my four-door sedan had a 13-inch crack in the windshield. At first, I felt embarrassed pulling into the commuter east lot in this suburban staple. 
My friends would even tease, “Hey Elisa! Where’s your mom?” 
Over the past week, however, I realized why the minivan is the top choice for families — it is massively practical. 
Although much wider than my car, the minivan is spacious. I can avoid ordering a U-Haul and instead use my Tetris skills to pack my minivan to the brim for road trips and moving. Needing to move a big piece of furniture that I found on the side of the road is no problem as I can just take out all the seats. If you need a place to sit outside but forget to bring a chair, I will just fold the backseat down into tailgate mode. 
I see the minivan as a metal shell full of potential. I can add a hitch, put in a full-size spare and maybe even add a portable cooler. Think of it like those 70s Volkswagen vans, but fine tune it for a soccer mom. Instead of always having substances on hand, you have water bottles, a change of clothes, an extra jacket, blankets and emergency s’mores supplies. 
My dream minivan may not be an attractive ride, and it certainly may not be impressive. Yet, I am okay with that. My car has room to party on the drive to parties. With room for up to seven people — or more if we stack up — carpooling is a great opportunity to hang out before or debrief after events. My friends have plenty of room to get comfortable so that we can fully unpack the evening. 
For me, driving the minivan is now a get-to, not a have-to. In fact, I will be sad to make the car trade with my family again this fall break. Yet, my minivan days are far from over. Look out, you will soon see me cruising around Starkville in a Honda Odyssey with cartoon flames on my automatic doors.