Nina is a beautiful 2015 Toyota Corolla. She's sleek, reliable and a real fly gal. I'm so grateful for her and am incredibly blessed to have her. Some people may think giving high schoolers access to their own car is just asking for a disaster, but there’s another possibility. It could teach them responsibility, the value of treating what you’re blessed with well and show them that it pays off to plan ahead and take the law seriously. While there is a fair chance of either scenario, if you have a car while in high school, or really any stage of life, no doubt realized it’s an absolute dream and should be careful not to take for granted. Love your vehicle. Name her (or him). Treat her gently. Act like she’s your best friend, keep her full and healthy and she’ll reward you with lots of love and potential adventures.

1. It’s the ideal quiet-time sanctuary

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It usually takes me a while to reach my destination because I drive like a tiny blind grandma going to church. My friends make fun of me for it, but I won’t be the one getting a speeding ticket. Plus, I don’t mind driving. I enjoy the peaceful me-time. I can either turn on some music, listen to the rain plinking off the roof or listen to the sounds of the road with my windows down. I hardly get a second to breathe at school, and as there’s usually always someone at home, I rarely get any time to be completely alone. I use this time to recharge and collect myself. Yay, introverts! Especially because I attend a school about an hour away, I’ve realized that soaking in the peaceful silence is the perfect way to start my day.

2. It’s the one place you’re not harassed to constantly clean up.

As I mentioned earlier, owning something so valuable and serious should bring out a level of initiative, responsibility and the such, but that doesn’t mean you have to clean it out every night. If you want to leave your sweaty gym bag in the trunk for a week, go for it. You’ll smell it later, but I know the sweet, Siren-like lulls of procrastination. You'll make sure it's clean, but you decide when to make it happen. You should keep your carpets vacuumed, windshield clear and seats tidy, but if you want to wait till the weekend to do the dirty work, go for it. It’s the one place my mom doesn’t yell at me for leaving my shoes or jackets, and I’m learned to police myself on keeping the cleanliness level pretty respectable, a vital life skill.

3. It brings you a new level of freedom!

This one is the obvious, classic teen-gets-a-car-in-a-movie-and-goes-anywhere-and-everywhere-they-want-all-day-every-day point. Although movies radically over-exaggerate the freedom a car comes with, the independence you do get feels amazing. You won’t go on a cross-country road trip with your three best friends the day you turn sixteen (thanks for that impression Mary Kate and Ashley), but you’re no longer limited to places you can reach on foot or by biking until someone can drive you. Sure, you may get sent out to go grocery shopping, but there’s a certain taste of satisfaction that comes with completing mundane tasks all by yourself. Even with curfews, restrictions and the occasional grounding, a car really does bring you to a new level of freedom you’ve never experienced. No more do your parents have to drop you off at school, drive you to movies with your friends or chauffeur school dances, though some may still try.

4. Music is driver's choice.

My mom and I do not have the same taste in music, but typically when I’m driving she’ll allow whatever “trash” or “screaming” I listen to. It’s not like I’m choosing hard core death metal. Usually it’s just whatever 105.7 FM is playing. I also have my beloved cache of CD’s including some Rush, The Shins, a CD my aunt made me that features The Beatles and maybe a Disney soundtrack. If you’re not in the mood for music or endless radio ads, try an audiobook. I’ve recently discovered how quickly they can make 141’s traffic disappear. I highly recommend Seriously…I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres or Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. Both are narrated by their authors, which is ideal for an audiobook. If you don’t know if you’re ready for the transition from music to words, you can check one out from the library just to test it out.

5. You’ll learn all the car maintenance basics before you’re on your own.

Even if you don’t have a car, learning to change a tire before heading off to college is important. You can help a frantic friend who has a flat or will already be informed if you get a vehicle later on. If you possess a car, you are in charge of taking care of it. It can’t change its own oil or find its own fuel. Also, you’ll probably run into a situation where you’ll learn the value of being prepared for any situation. Theoretically, let’s say your car battery dies an hour away from home in the pouring rain after all your friends have left, not that that would ever happen to anyone… You’ll learn the invaluable lesson of always keeping jumper cables in your trunk. While car maintenance knowledge is only one step into adulthood, at least for those stuck in the suburbs, having a car in high school will teach you how to be prepared for any situation life throws your way.