A journal entry

Today I got a temporary unrestricted DL.

This means a lot. I have come a long way.

Having a DL feels surreal to me. I know a lot of people around me have had the DL: my dad, my gf, a lot of my close friends, almost everyone I know in the US, etc. I am the late-comer. But that doesn’t make my joy of knowing-I-have-got-a-DL fade away.

The DL means efforts. I had to learned the American traffic laws in a driver’s education course. That was a month in 2024, with some money spent. I had to learn to drive, which means the emotional baggage to overcome to receive help from the friends teaching me, to stay focused during the lessons, and to reciprocate their help. That also means trying schedule and reschedule 2 DPS appointments in a very competitive area. That means arranging Uber and friend’s rides to get to some remote DPS to get the license because they are the only locations with reasonable wait times.

The DL means there have been a lot of help to me. Help from anh Tan and chi Ngoc to educate me about the process, the place to take driving ed, the processing to learn to drive, and the actual driving lessons. Help from Jonathan and Cathy, who spent hours after hours in several months from 2024 to 2025, admist their busy schedule, to teach me to drive.

The DL means great privilege in the future. I can now go to anywhere I want to be in a much faster pace. Or I can go very far with my very own maneuver. I can do road trips in days, go to the ATM in <10 minutes. That opens up opportunities to meet new people, make meaningful connections, make friendships, and enjoy the abundance of life in this country.

The DL means great responsibility in the future. It means making decisions that can literally alter the lives of myself and others on the road and those connected.

The DL means some sort of life changes. In my childhood, a car is a highly luxurious thing. As of now, car is also quite expensive, but I can now afford a car in this economy. It is always emotional to finally achieve something you worked on for a long time, which you also much need. Learning to drive and getting a DL is not trivial for an international student without relatives and good support system in the US. But achieving it that you can achieve many things if you try hard enough.