Not having a car is undoubtedly difficult, but it has reminded me of how lucky I am to be surrounded by such a strong, warm community. 

Before I was of age to get a license or a car, I found that my friends and I defied the stereotype of young teenagers counting down the days until they are able to drive. Even though no one my age could drive, none of us ever found ourselves unable to get to where we wanted to go. Juniors and seniors at JDS were always very generous in letting us get rides with them to where they were going, and even in going out of their way to make sure we got to our destination. They understood that an easy action for them meant a lot to us. 

Now, as a senior myself, most of my friends have cars, and so they’re always selfless in offering me rides to and from school. During a period in our lives where we no longer take the bus or carpool with our neighborhood friends, instead opting to drive by ourselves in our cars, many people have even commented that they look forward to our rides together. Listening to music or a podcast in the car is fun, they say, but after a while, it can become repetitive and lonely. Mixing it up by speaking to a friend in the car can improve the quality of one’s drive to or from school. 

However, this doesn’t mean that there haven’t been difficulties associated with not having a car. The reality is that there are situations in my day-to-day life where I don’t have the luxury of having a friend near me to offer a ride. This is true during the school year, like when I just want to go get candy at 7/11 or when I want to head over to the local library after school, but it becomes exponentially truer when school isn’t in session. 

Over the summer, I tutored twice a week in Gaithersburg, and to get to and from I either needed to take two buses and a train or take an Uber all the way to or from Silver Spring, which is about a thirty-minute drive. Just last week on a three day weekend, I wanted to head over to a friend’s house in Potomac, and my only option was an Uber since my mom was at work with her car. These situations can certainly be challenging, and they do make me wish I had the option of my own car, but they don’t negate the wonderful benefits which come along with having such gracious friends and being in such a tight-knit community.

There are certainly times when I wish I had the added convenience and freedom of my own car, but I would never dream of trading it for the blessing of growing up in the JDS community.