I got my very first car when I was a senior high school. It was a 1988 Chevrolet Celebrity and I bought it from my sister when she got a new car herself. My best friend called it a "death machine," but ol' Hemingway the Chevrolet was a great starter car for getting us to school every day.

I eventually got a new car, Camille the Oldsmobile, that would be much better at making frequent trips on the interstate. I've now proudly owned that car for about two years and I love it so much.

From what I can remember, there have only been three instances in which I couldn't drive my current car: twice due to technical difficulties and once due to dislocating my knee. The most recent incident (as in it literally concluded yesterday as I write this article) was one of the technical difficulties which forced me to remember how much it sucks to temporarily lose your car once you're used to it.

For one thing, you become reliant on rides from both people you know and random strangers via ridesharing apps. I'm extremely thankful for my family driving me around, but rides I got from them were after long days and it can be hard to not feel like just another thing they have to do even though they were happy to drive me. To go places within Eugene like work, I took Lyfts. I got very nice drivers, but it was also an expense I wish I didn't have to spend my "rainy day" money on.

What I missed the most was just driving by myself and playing my favorite music, even if it was a short drive. There's something very simple yet amazing about being able to take care of myself as an adult. Even better, it's just so freeing to know that I have the ability to jump in my car and drive anywhere I want.

As an independent person, I like to be self-sufficient. While driving allows me to do that, I also like being a friend who has a car so I can help out whenever needed. While having a car is by no means necessary for my situation, it makes my life a hell of a lot easier and I'm very thankful for that.