It’s been almost two years since I’ve had a car. That’s two whole years of car-sickness from being a passenger in a moving vehicle! Gah, I miss driving! Next year I’m going to make it my mission to get a UK driver’s license because this has just gone on for far too long. Don’t worry, I’m only going for an automatic license. I can’t stand manual transmission, and as a defensive driver I would much rather be focused on the road instead of fiddling with gears.

Whenever someone asks me what I miss most about America, I always say driving. More specifically, I miss driving myself around in my beige 1999 Mazda 626 six-cylinder sedan and listening to the radio. When I moved to England I totally underestimated how much I rely on being able to drive myself, and the fact that we live in a small town doesn’t make it easier on me. Driving gave me a lot of confidence. I was able to get myself from point A to point B and it felt good to be the one in control of my destiny, as cheesy as that may seem. It’s time I got a bit more of that confidence back.

I’ve spent so much time building up my confidence this year, but at some point I think I really hit a wall. After a while, you exhaust all of the confidence-boosting activities you’ve grown to love throughout the year and it becomes clear that you’re missing a piece of the puzzle. For me, I think that might be the independence of driving. If you think about it, one of my main hang-ups with finding a job is transportation. I’m hesitant to rely on public transportation because I know how unpredictable it can be, and having a car would give me so many more opportunities for work.

All in all, I’ve been driving for the last seven years and although the prospect of slapping L plates on a vehicle might make me die of embarrassment, I’m desperate to get back on the road again in the new year. It’s time.