A personalized license plate can say a lot: whether it names a person whom has inspired the driver, displays something the driver is passionate about or even as simple as a childhood nickname.
Making an attempt to try to stand out from the generic letter and number license plates, personalized plates are becoming increasingly popular.
They can be seen driving down the highway and even in Baker’s parking lots.
Sophomore Krista Yaktine, who has been committed to golfing for years, likes nothing better than being able to go out and hit a few rounds.
This is why she wanted to find a way to include her favorite sport in her car’s plate.
“I play golf and I am always out practicing,” she said. “I love golf and it is something I really love to do. This is why I wanted to somehow incorporate golf into my license plate. That is how I came up with ‘GLFRGRL.'”
Besides being a way to display a favorite pastime, nicknames are also becoming another common personalized plate choice.
When trying to decide what to put on her plate, freshman Brooke Sanders decided to go for a cute name her family calls her.
“My aunts have called me Booger as a nickname for forever,” Sanders said. “I always wanted a personalized plate, and so I decided to put Booger on it as a way to work in the name.”
Sophomore Ali Watson decided to get creative with her license plate and use a name she got from her uncle.
“My front license plate is black and says ‘AJAXMARIE,'” Watson said. “My legal name is Alex, and my uncle always jokingly called me Ajax like the soap. Then when I got my first car, I wanted a personalized plate, and my dad got one that had that on it for me. Since the car was kind of old, the license plate helped make it a bit better.”
Other than being cute and funny, license plates can represent something meaningful to the driver.
In freshman Kelli Gamel’s case, she has been a fan of John Lennon since she was young. She has listened to him from the time he was in The Beatles until he left the group to create his own music.
“My license plate says ‘IMAG1NE,'” Gamel said. “I am obsessed with John Lennon and I like his music, views and life philosophies. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with The Beatles and later John Lennon when I heard his album, ‘Imagine.’ I am not a hippie, I just like him and ‘Imagine.'”
Having a personalized license plate can represent part of the driver, and he or she can form a real attachment to it and the memories behind it.
“This is my first license plate, and I plan on keeping it forever,” Gamel said.