A car means freedom for any teenager, marking a huge milestone in anyone’s life.

I bought my first car on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

The car is a 2009 Chevy Cobalt — and I already love it.

My new car is navy blue and has 185,000 miles on it. I bought it for $2,400 dollars from Lear Motors, which is a mechanic located in Davison.

Getting a new car is a big responsibility. You have to do everything from getting gas, to completing maintenance, to paying for insurance.

Although parents usually help you, like mine, they expect you to take charge; this usually means getting a job.

It’s nice to have my own car now because I don’t have to rely on others for rides to places. It also makes it easier on my parents since they don’t have to rework their schedules around my activities — although they still worry about me driving on my own, as any parent would.

My brother, who is almost 20, bought a car just last year. For him, it didn’t really seem like a grand thing as much as it was a necessity to drive back and forth to college.

Since I am the more social one in the family, I have found that having my own car enables me to be part of activities or go to events that I might not otherwise get to indulge in.

Along with a new car, however, comes a set of new rules. My rules are for safety, and they are having a curfew, limiting the amount of people I can have in my car, following the basic rules of the road, and not driving distracted, which includes everything from texting to playing super loud music.

My parents and I have a mutual respect for one another, so I have absolutely no problem with following their rules.

Getting my first car marks a new chapter in my life: the part where I am growing up.

Although it can definitely be scary at times, I’m ecstatic to be hitting these milestones in my life.