I love to drive. I understand why some people view it as a hassle and a chore but I find it almost meditative. I find a long drive very relaxing, and it gives me time to focus and think about things I wouldn’t normally think about. However I wasn’t always like this, I waited over a year to get my drivers license and I regret every minute that I spent waiting.
When my parents first proposed the idea of getting my driver’s license I was against the idea completely. I thought that learning to drive was a waste of time and I could just take the bus anywhere I needed to go. I help on to these ideas until right until I turned 16. Once I turned 16 and the majority of my friends had their licenses (since I have a late birthday), I realized that driving was actually super useful(who knew🤔). Rather than asking my parents to drive me to hang out with my friends I could just jump in the car and go. As a result, I asked my friends for rides whenever I wanted to hang out. I realized I was a burden on my friends(😓) and enrolled in driving school as soon as possible. Driving school was a breeze, I was one of older kids in the classroom since I waited a year to take driving school but that was OK with me, I happy to being left alone and focusing on the class. The material that was taught was simple, most of it was logical. But driving is a lot of responsibility, you are responsible for a ~2-ton hunk of steel that can go over 100mph and your brain isn’t even fully matured. As a result, I focused on the material that was taught and made sure to remember everything I thought was important. After I finished driving school my mom planned a road trip to Florida and I was expected to drive at least half (😵). I gained a lot of experience on the road trip, I learned how to properly drive in heavy rain and even learned how to speed (😋). I think the road trip really made a better drive and allowed me to gain a lot of real-world experience. When we came back from the road trip I promised myself to the “behind the wheel” portion of my driving school done. But due to laziness, I waited until this summer after I got a job. This was stupid. Only when I realized that taking a 1.5 hr bus ride to get to my job sucked(🤢), did I push to get my license? I finished the “behind the wheel portion in exactly a week, I tried to rush it as much as possible. I have blessed that the behind the wheel teacher recognized my desperation and fast-tracked my progress.
When I finally complete all my requirements, I went to take the test. I waited over 4 hours in the DMV. It was one of the worst most bureaucratic experience of my life. The test took only about 10 min but the waiting killed me. In the end, it was all worth it I got my driver's license and earned my freedom. I earned the ability to leave almost whenever I want and I earned the freedom to just think and drive. I think earn is the right word proportional the amount of time I put into this and the amount I learned.
I took driver's ed. as early as I could, and I also thought it was a breeze. But it's been two years since then and I just recently (last month) finished behind the wheel. I've barely driven for 20 hours in these two years.
ReplyDeleteI don't like driving. I like being driven. A long car ride is really relaxing -- if you're not in the drivers seat that is. By now I'm pretty confident driving around in residential areas, but I'm a nervous wreck downtown (Urbana, even more so in Champaign). Don't even get me started on highways.
I think I just need to get more practice. I don't like driving with my dad because I think he's a pretty irresponsible driver (constantly going 10-15 miles over the limit, looking at his phone constantly, driving while he's practically half asleep). He gets irritated with me when I try to be cautious, which just makes me more nervous and in turn even more cautious.
I've finished BTW so I could take the test, but I don't think I'd pass. I'm not sure what I'll do though, as my permit expires in November. Maybe I'll just ride the bus forever.
I also love driving. Whenever I have somewhere to be, I overestimate how long it will take to get there, and leave 5-10 minutes early. Then, I just blast my music and drive in circles, and I use it as "me" time, where I can just belt out my favorite songs and be lost in thought.
ReplyDeleteI completely relate. I was so excited when I got my license, and you can definitely tell if you see the picture on my license because I’m smiling so hard. One of my favorite parts of car rides is making a small playlist on Spotify before I leave and enjoying it during the ride. P.S. your use of emojis in this post is 👍
ReplyDeleteI just recently got my license and it feels so liberating to be able to go anywhere any time. I also really like driving and find it a nice way to relax by myself, but I think that might be because I haven't had it for too long. I feel like the thrill is going to be lost in a couple of years, but for now I guess I'll just enjoy the ride (haha).
ReplyDeleteI think driving is pretty fun too. If gas wasn't so expensive, I would just drive all over town with no goal all night with food and music. Except I'd feel kind of bad because I'm kind of polluting the environment for no reason. When I was doing behind the wheel the driving instructor actually told me about you which was funny. Also for the DMV I had to wait for 10-15 minutes to take my test but I was already going crazy with boredom and nervousness which is a bad combo. Hopefully you had something to do during that excruciating wait. I'm bad at driving so I don't drive alone much. Usually my parents are watching me. Hopefully I will improve soon though so I can really know what you're really talking about. Good post!
ReplyDeleteEver since my brother started learning how to drive I couldn't wait to get my license and cruise the streets with our 2001 Toyota Echo. When I was finally old enough to begin drivers Ed, my parents suddenly became against the idea of me driving. They decided not to enroll me or in their words they are "still thinking about it". Now all my friends are slowly getting their licenses and i just can't wait to drive and be free. Good post, Loved the emojis and descriptions.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE driving around. Like you, it's given me a lot of independance. I live on the really far side of Urbana, so I used to feel kinda guilty asking my parents to drive me around everywhere (I live about 20+ minutes from my friends, so my parents would have to drive more than an hour total). But now I can drive to robotics whenever I want, or hang out with my friends all the time. Also I like listening to the radio on the car.
ReplyDeletebtw: the DMV is actually the worst place on earth. The first time I went, I waited for more than 3 hours and didn't even get to drive. The second time, I was one of the first people at the DMV, and I still waited for at least an hour to drive.
I have a permit, but I have only driven for a few hours. Like Julian, I think driving is rather stressful on busy streets and I prefer the passengers seat. The freedom of being able to go places on your own is definitely attractive though. I'm not old enough to get a license, but I figure that I'll get one eventually and maybe I'll end up enjoying driving as much as you do.
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