I have been waiting for a long time, anticipating the day where I will have the freedom to roam where I want, go places with speed and get places with ease.
Where I live, the legal driving age is actually 16. Well, 16 turned to 17, which turned to 18 and 19 for me.
Back when I was 16, I had no real interest in attending months of weekly driving school sessions when I could easily get a ride somewhere or take public transportation. As I turned 17, it was just easier to wait until 18 where driving school was no longer a necessity. At 18, I did what I needed to, took the knowledge test and set up 4 appointments that I cancelled month after month because it was too expensive for insurance. Until, I finally created one that I took last week and passed. It just always seemed like driving was more of an inconvenience than something good.
I was extremely nervous during the test--mainly that I wouldnt be able to back into a space. The man looked mean, barely said a word and just quickly said directions.
I thought my test was going to be bad when I went out to the car, the man saw a brake light was out and told me and my mom it needed to be fixed before the test. He gave us an hour. We rushed out to have it fixed, found somewhere and the guy fixed it for free. We were back to the DMV in 20 minutes.
As I sat in the car white knuckled, I hoped I would pass. How nice it would be to have my license. How could I tell people I didnt pass? I did exactly as the man said, maintained my speed and my cool as the 10 minutes quickly flew by.
As I walked back into the building with the man, he didnt say a word. Pointing to a chair, I sat and waited. He walked around, grabbed a sheet of paper, made a copy and then motioned with his finger to come over. "Congratulations. Have a seat outside the door and wait for your name".
With a sigh of relief, and a wave of excitedness (i know, not a word) I walked outside to tell my mother. I sat in that hard, plastic chair beaming to myself and staring at the piece of paper covered in check marks and an "x" marking pass instead of fail.
I smiled for my picture--making sure it lived up to the pretty decent picture on my now- turned- in non-drivers ID. I waited for my license and walked quickly to the desk to claim my new piece of plastic.
As I called each family member that had wished me luck, I couldnt help but be louder than I needed to be or more excited than expected. I had finally done it. My new little card sitting proudly in my hand or on my lap as I made the phone calls and my mom drove me home.
Shiny and new with a pretty good picture, my license now sits in my wallet or ID case adorning the space that has waited for it. Surprisingly, I have not even driven since receiving it. Although I wish I could go to the mall or drive aimlessly around town, its difficult while at school and almost finals week.
Despite the fact that I am a little saddened I havent been able to drive around, I feel lucky that I get to have another extra exciting day as I take my first trip as a legal driver.
Congrats!! Have fun driving :)
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