Affording My First Car
Donation protected
Hi!
I have never driven a car before, except maybe 10 times between the ages of 16 and 17 while taking Driver's Education. 20 years ago, I wound up failing the maneuverability course and my driver's exam. Since then, I have never had enough money for a car, so I never obtained a driver's license. After I became an adult, my yearly income combined with the high cost of living prevented me from saving enough money to purchase a car. This began a never-ending cycle of having only enough money to afford my housing, utilities, basic needs, and nothing else for the 16 years that followed.
In 2017, in search of career opportunities, I enrolled at Central Ohio Technical College. I rode a mountain bike to and from school the first 4 quarters until I could afford an electric bicycle making transportation easier. I was still walking back and forth to school, biking, and taking public transportation when my E-Bike would break down or when it was too difficult to ride it safely during the winter. I have never had people in my life who can give me rides if I need them. I have always used a bicycle to get me across town to all my jobs, or walked. I also depend on public transit when I shop for groceries.
Newark is not a pedestrian-friendly town (being an adult who has never driven a car), it's a social stigma and burden to try and consistently get from point A to point B, stress free in the weather, through the local terrain, and it's difficult to be taken seriously as a legitimate adult. Especially with things like: commuting to another city for a career or school, or traveling for shopping, entertainment, and leisure. I have never had the luxury of driving in a car and exploring what the rest of my state, or even my city, has to offer from a motorist's point of view.
I am trying to branch out and make a better life for myself and having a car would simplify that. I am almost 40 now, and as a lifelong resident in Licking County, Ohio, I am still seeing obstacles in dollar signs. I struggle to get by sometimes and I ask myself when will this change? If not now, when?
In closing, I just want to be able to live a life before I'm too old to enjoy it and that is why I need help buying a car.
I have never driven a car before, except maybe 10 times between the ages of 16 and 17 while taking Driver's Education. 20 years ago, I wound up failing the maneuverability course and my driver's exam. Since then, I have never had enough money for a car, so I never obtained a driver's license. After I became an adult, my yearly income combined with the high cost of living prevented me from saving enough money to purchase a car. This began a never-ending cycle of having only enough money to afford my housing, utilities, basic needs, and nothing else for the 16 years that followed.
In 2017, in search of career opportunities, I enrolled at Central Ohio Technical College. I rode a mountain bike to and from school the first 4 quarters until I could afford an electric bicycle making transportation easier. I was still walking back and forth to school, biking, and taking public transportation when my E-Bike would break down or when it was too difficult to ride it safely during the winter. I have never had people in my life who can give me rides if I need them. I have always used a bicycle to get me across town to all my jobs, or walked. I also depend on public transit when I shop for groceries.
Newark is not a pedestrian-friendly town (being an adult who has never driven a car), it's a social stigma and burden to try and consistently get from point A to point B, stress free in the weather, through the local terrain, and it's difficult to be taken seriously as a legitimate adult. Especially with things like: commuting to another city for a career or school, or traveling for shopping, entertainment, and leisure. I have never had the luxury of driving in a car and exploring what the rest of my state, or even my city, has to offer from a motorist's point of view.
I am trying to branch out and make a better life for myself and having a car would simplify that. I am almost 40 now, and as a lifelong resident in Licking County, Ohio, I am still seeing obstacles in dollar signs. I struggle to get by sometimes and I ask myself when will this change? If not now, when?
In closing, I just want to be able to live a life before I'm too old to enjoy it and that is why I need help buying a car.
Organizer
Mike Dayton
Organizer
Newark, OH
