I’ve got a secret that I recently decided to come forward and divulge. I do not have a valid driver's license nor a permit. The closest thing to a car that I’ve ever driven was a go-kart! Recently, I picked up the “New York State Driver's Manual” at my home library in New York City and read it cover to cover, but doing that did not give me the confidence to take the wheel. As a 21-year-old college student, not knowing how to drive is not much of a nuisance as many expect it to be.

At home, I ride the subway regularly and walk as much as I want to. Some of my best memories of growing up in New York City revolve around the subway. When I was in high school, I loved walking from the subway to school with my teachers because the time was unstructured and casual. When I got to Conn, there was no subway. When I go home for break or the occasional long weekend, I ride Shoreline East and Metro-North commuter rails, from which I can look out the window to observe the beautiful Connecticut coastline.

During my first year at Conn, I rode the Camel Van, the College’s free shuttle service, quite regularly when I wanted to visit downtown New London and the local malls. As my time at Conn progressed, many of my friends began to have access to cars on campus, though sometimes we will take an Uber when we are tired and not in the mood to look for parking. Now that my friends have cars, we have new adventures driving to places all over Connecticut. Sometimes, on Sundays we drive to our favorite cafe, Washington Street Coffee House. The car ride is all the more worth it because Washington Street makes the best bagels with lox—outside of New York City, of course. I hope to get my license one day, but in the meantime bribing friends with coffee is a great way to venture off campus. Not to mention the trips to the go-kart raceway with my dad, who is there to cheer me on and hand me a copy of the driver's manual once more.