Car a Must-Have for High School?

Dear Liz: I want to disagree with you over your recent advice about buying cars for kids.

I was extremely depressed during my senior year of high school for many reasons, but a big part of it was that I couldn’t drive because of our financial situation. My mom had other bills to pay, and my paychecks weren’t big enough to cover the insurance.

I really don’t think you grown-ups know how it feels to wait for rides, walk home past the young sophomores that drive and have people look down on you. All I can say is that when I have kids, I will do anything to make sure they have a car.

A: No, you probably won’t — because someday you’ll be the grown-up and you’ll realize what a service your mother did for you by not buying you something your family couldn’t afford.

You also will learn, with any luck, that how you react to circumstances is a lot more important than the circumstances themselves.

By the way, many of us grown-ups know exactly how it feels to wait for rides, and we survived just fine.