These days, not owning a car is hard and unacceptable, but having to deal with it is actually quite easy and economically rewarding. True, one could be treated as an underprivileged person for not having a car, yet this lamentable state can be turned around for the better. Having no car doesn’t stop a person from getting to places or accomplishing his goals in life. It may slow him down in the process, but it doesn’t necessarily keep him from making it through.
Foremost, is for the person to accept the fact that he doesn’t really own a car. It is hard, right? Of course, yet, it is the truth! Owning up that one doesn’t have it is not the end of the world for him. In fact, it sets him free. Accepting the truth makes it easier. By not doing so, he is not getting to the point. He can never cope-up with the setback without his unconditional acceptance of the matter. If he does, it would be a breeze for him to get through all the steps in surviving without a car.
Next, one should refrain from making excuses for not being able to buy one. He has to take it as it is that he doesn’t have enough money for a ride. Yes, he has a part-time work, but the basic needs must be prioritized. A person pays bills for house rent, electricity, water, and feeds and clothes himself. By making more excuses, he essentially pictures himself as having a miserable life. That would not help him carry on. Instead of building his sense of worth, he is actually crumbling it down. Making excuses manifests one’s own failure. On top of this it's important to try not to make excuses as they will reduce motivation (Dean. n. pag.).
Subsequently, he needs to be honest. If a person has now accepted the fact that he doesn’t have a car, then be should be open to talk about it. He really doesn’t have to tell everybody, he just has to say so when the need arises. Like, when he finally gets to befriend a new girl in school (such girl that he is interested most), he could tell her something like this: “Could I walk you home some time? Or maybe we could take the bus if you are not from around here. I still don’t have my own car.” She would definitely love the honesty and humbleness. Not unless, she prefers a car rather than an honest person. Or, when his new circle of friends plan about going out somewhere not within the vicinity, he can just tell them that he doesn’t have a car and maybe he could just ride with one of them. They would appreciate much the candour and view it as a good foundation for their friendship. A person’s openness to the fact of not having a car makes him a better person.
Then, he must choose his new friends and acquaintances. The people around him play a major role on how he gets through the dilemma. They can either make or break him. While his old and best friends understand and know pretty well what he is going through, new ones may not. And for all he knows, he will be dealing with them for some time. Again, one needs to take new friends who in return would take him as he is, by being honest and unpretensious. He must avoid the likes that pride themselves about their rides, they sure are going to look down on him as a lowly one. And being with them, as may be for the first couple of months, would only make him look even more pitiful. Along the way, he should not mind insults or mockery of him having no car. It doesn’t make him half a man. he would only be at the losing end if he gets back on them.
Instead of sulking, he could try to developing his potentials either in the academic or atheletic field. He may not have a car, but he can be great in brains and brawn. Knowledge or strength, or even both, is far better than owning a car. If he excels in such fields, people would look up to him. In a way, the stigma of having no “wheels” fades and he gets better opportunities. And the guys with flashy cars would unceremoniously get off his back. Also, by focusing on his prospective talents, he gets to avoid unnecessary expenditures like partying and going to trips that are basically some of the reasons why he is in such predicament. He should start picking up those unread books or piling up the scores, now. He doesn’t have to dwell on his pitiful plight.
Next step is to slash a little on his budget. Instead of him thinking of investing on a car and jeopardizing his priorities, why shouldn’t he not gradually cut on them? He can try renting a low-cost pad nearer his school or work, all he needs is shelter; unplug unnessesary appliances when not in use or when he actually doesn’t need them. Airconditioning is actually a luxury, we didn’t have them way back; conserve water. A long hot or cold shower or using the tub utilizes more water. All he needs is to get clean; try growing vegetables on pot, they are much healthier to eat and don’t cost much; and buy comfortable yet inexpensive clothes. It is not the brand name that makes it feel right. Well, he may usually take the bus or walk himself to school. But for now, he has good friends with cars. He could suggest and convince them into car-pooling. He can even come up with a fuel consumption division among themselves. In this manner, he doesn’t get to be dubbed as a free-loader of some sort. It is also a win-win formula for him and his friends. It costs less, and with contentment of being in a car, compared to having to take the bus or walking his way. By going through all these, he gets to save money – the kind that other people with flashy cars don’t have (of course, the rich people have it still, though). Some people who have cars are actually having a hard time making both ends meet. They have to pay for their cars and they have to shell out more for gas and the maintenance. He may have no car, but now he is fiscally stable compared to them, in a way.
The next step is for him to look for a more beneficial work, a job that pays more than his current one, but not necessarily double. What he only needs to get is a job that could add up to the money he has saved. He should be doing this to turn the tables, from being deemed as a no-body, to a person that has the capabality, money-wise.
Lastly, he now has a not-so-unhappy life, readily available cash, good friends and great accomplishments in his studies. He must take care of all of them. He should live life and enjoy it even more, and sooner or later it would get even better. He must use his money wisely and get some little comfort, but not excessively. He needs to nurture the friendships that he has established that helped him along the way, by continuing to be that honest person that they have known. He must now get the degree the he has been seeking and he shall have the break for a high paying job soon. When he accomplishes all these, who could say that earlier in his life, he went through the hardship of not having a car?
One can survive without having a car. It is really not that hard. A person may need to go through a lot of test of perseverance but it can be achieved. It is only not financially rewarding at the end but could even make a person better. A car is only a vehicle that could bring one to places, but character and optimism drives it. Without an excellent person driving it, one could lose its way around. Yes, life is a journey. But one doesn’t essentially need a car to be able to make it.
Work Cited
Dean, Jeremy. “Self-Handicapping: Why Making Excuses Hurts You.” PSYBLOG. 29 November 2011. Web. 04 April 2013
