Picture this: you’re a sophomore in high school. It’s the winter and you’re on your way to Rochester for a volleyball tournament. Your dad is driving and you’ve just gotten out of a toll booth when it happens. Someone tries to come into your lane because they are going to miss the exit. You scream. Your dad cuts the wheel and now you’re heading toward the cement divider. You scream again. Your dad cuts the wheel for the second time and you veer into three lanes of oncoming traffic. You smash into the cement divider on the other side of the highway and bounce back into traffic. Your dad gains control of the car and pulls over to the side of the road. It’s a miracle that no one else hit us. You turn to look at your father and see that he’s bleeding from his head and his mouth. You’re scared. Your hand hurts. The person who tried to come into your lane asks if we’re okay before speeding off. You dial 911 but you don’t know where you are. You read the green traffic signs to the dispatcher, hoping they will be able to understand. 30 minutes go by before the dispatcher calls you back to tell you the ambulance can’t find you.

That was six years ago and I still don’t have my license. It’s a fact about me that everyone seems to have an opinion on.

Everytime I mention that I don’t have a license, the person I’m speaking to is usually bewildered. They wonder how I can live without driving. It’s easy. I ride my bike, walk, take public transportation, get a ride from someone I know. Since I’m from Long Island, I can understand why people think it’s crazy that I don’t drive. It is significantly harder to get around here. But for the last three years, I’ve been at college where everything I need is in walking/biking distance.

People tell me all the time that I have to get my license. But do I really? I’m hopeful that I’ll be working in Manhattan in the near future. If I decide to live there, there would be no point in getting my license.

Everyone has been driving since they were 16. But while you were having to spend money on insurance, gas, and maintaining your car, I’ve been pumping up my bike tires with free air and help save the environment.

I’m not as scared of driving anymore. I’ll probably get my license this year or the next. I’m still not comfortable driving on highways and I’m still careful about who I get into a car with. But this past year I drove across a bridge, something that I would have never thought I would do after my car accident.

The next time someone tells you they don’t have their license, try not to sound too shocked. You don’t know what terrifying experience they had that they don’t want to relive by telling you why they don’t have it. Or maybe they just don’t want to drive. Regardless, you need to get over it.