Turning 18 has been an interesting point in my life. I’m a senior in high school, graduating in a few weeks, and expected to start handling more responsibility, from taxes to driving myself around. Until recently, my driving experience was limited to short trips in my mom’s car around the neighborhood.

A few years ago, my dad bought an Infiniti G35 that mostly sat unused in the driveway. I didn’t know much about cars, so it never meant much to me. Last year, though, he told me he wanted to give it to me. At first I wasn’t very excited because he lived in Del Valle while my siblings and I stayed elsewhere, so I had no idea what condition the car was in. But when I finally saw it again, I loved it immediately. The paint was faded, the hood didn’t match the rest of the car, and it had over 200,000 miles on it, but none of that mattered to me.

The hard part came when I finally got behind the wheel. I was excited, but excitement doesn’t replace experience. On my first drive, I accidentally got the car stuck on a small hill and nearly drove somewhere I shouldn’t have. I was embarrassed and honestly didn’t want to keep trying after that. But this car remains a connection to my family who's helped me keep moving. 

– Miguel

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant