I am 11 years old and ever since I experienced my dad working on cars I’ve wanted to be an auto technician. Dad and his co-workers were lowering a motor into a Toyota. It smelled like window washer fluid and spilled gas.

At the time, Dad was working at a garage on the far side of Fairfield. Later on, I asked him questions like, “What is it like to work with cars?” and “Would I ever be able to do what you do?”

Dad encouraged me, but a few years later I got a discouraging answer from someone in my family. “Don’t count on it. You won’t get in (automotive technology school) , because you’re a girl.”

It made me think, and then I thought, “It doesn’t matter if I’m a girl, I can still try.”

Even if you’re little, it doesn’t mean you have to listen to people.

Some men think that women aren’t capable of fixing the world, by fixing cars. My judgment is that women don’t get treated seriously with car repair. We should be, for the reason that we can do the same things men can do; sometimes we can do it better.

The Institution for Automotive Service Excellence said that women account for more than half of all customers who take their cars to repair shops. Women mechanics would actually help sales by being ready to lend a hand and being patient.

If you’re a young woman and you like to fix cars, just remember, if another person says you can’t do something because you’re a different gender, then just tell them, “It doesn’t matter if I’m a girl, I can still try.” Just like I did.

Kaeya CassianiWaterville